Lethal Love
by writer4everr
Summary: Sakura Haruno is an elite assasin tasked with seducing the heir to Uchiha Corporations. Too bad she actually starts to fall in love with him! It's a crazy world of espionage, back stabbing and love. Careful! People aren't who they say they are...SASUSAKU
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Cruel Intentions**

**Sakura Central Park, Downtown Tokyo**

**June 7****th**** 5:42 PM**

Lifting up her tinted aviator shades, Sakura Haruno studied her unsuspecting target, Masaki Hirota. He looked like the typical grandpa, a firm but kind man. He was weathered down by age but still had a charismatic twinkle in his blue eyes and loomed over most of the people in the park in his suede shoes and silk suit. She sighed in disappointment, it was really too bad he had to be killed. It eased her regret considerably to know that he was involved in drug trafficking and wasn't totally innocent.

Standing up from the park bench, she stretched out her long lean legs and walked towards Hirota. She smiled in relief as she saw the last kid at the park leave hand in hand with his mother, skipping happily along. If she could avoid it, she didn't want a kid to see what was about to happen. Although she had been doing this for as long as she could remember and she was always the best at assassination she still had a conscience more or less.

Zipping up her leather jacket she continued down the park pathway, appearing nonchalant but eyeing her victim from across the central park. It was an unusually chilly late afternoon in downtown Tokyo and the wind blew in huge gusts, making her sleek ponytail wave from side to side. Her earpiece crackled and her partner's voice came over, "Slug. Can you hear me?" he asked lazily. She could just imagine him stretching lazily over his computer with a drink in his hand. Sakura smiled, although her partner always tried to sneak his way out of working, he was a talented analyst and technician, a valuable partner to have.

"Shikamaru, are we using code names already?" she asked coolly, smirking to herself. She knew it was standard Kurokage procedure to always use code names when on missions but she hardly did, as the codename 'slug' hardly appealed to her.

She heard him sigh, "You know standard procedure, Slug." He reminded her exasperatedly. "Is the target armed and within shooting range?" he proceeded to ask her, she could hear him typing in the background.

She glanced quickly over at Hirota to check his position. 40 yards away, piece of cake. "Target is unarmed and within easy shooting range, Bear." She emphasized his code name mockingly. His codename 'bear' suited him. Bears were lazy, only in action when required for survival, just like Shikamaru Naara.

"Great. Proceed on with the assassination." Shikamaru urged. She could tell that he wanted her to hurry up and kill him so that they could all go home early. Typical lazy bum.

She pulled out her gun but paused momentarily as a little girl of five years went skipping by with a bright yellow balloon in hand. "Poor kid." She mused to herself; at the back of her head, she longed to be a little kid, ignorant of the corruption and greed in the world.

Shikamaru's irritated voice came over the earpiece, "Slug? Are we having sentimental thoughts again? Hurry it up." He sighed idly.

"Shut it, Bear. A little kid just walked by, I didn't want to scar her for life." Sakura snapped and growled under her breath.

Shikamaru snorted amusedly, "Of course. We wouldn't want that now would we?" he agreed dryly. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Anko-sama orders you not to use a gun, too messy and too obvious. Use the poison I gave you earlier in syringe form. Make it look like a suicide or something."

Sakura didn't answered, her eyes still trained on Hirota, she pursed her lips as she glanced at the gun in her hand.

Shikamaru's voice came over the earpiece sounding more irritated than ever, "Are you listening to me?"

She scowled and put the gun under her arm, "I heard you. Don't worry; I wouldn't dare break Anko-sama's order. The gun will just be used to-motivate him." She grinned maliciously, and then switched the earpiece off. She wouldn't need his help anymore.

She waited until the kid was out of her sight and then let out a deep exhale. She pulled her hair out of her hair band and shook out her loose waves and slipped her aviator shades back on. She smiled confidently, going in for the kill. Holding the gun close to her legs, she walked over to the oblivious Hirota.

"Masaki Hirota?" she asked sweetly, standing above him.

He glanced up nervously, as if expecting somebody else. He took one look at her and let out a sigh of relief, as if he was thinking. _Oh. It's only a girl._She let out a quiet chuckle, _Shouldn't have let down your guard._ He put down the local newspaper he was reading and patted the seat next to him, inviting her to sit down.

"Yes that's me. Can I help you?" He suggested lecherously, his dark eyes glittered, like little beads. Oh god. Ew. He had to be at least three times her age. She couldn't believe her first impression of him was a kind old grandpa.

Shikamaru chortled in her ear, "Did I just hear what I think he said? Wow, you're a lucky girl, Slug." She heard him try to contain his laughter, more sounding like he was choking. Sakura gritted her teeth, and steeled herself to continue on with the mission. She took the gun from her pocket and jabbed it into his rib.

"You can help me all right. Are you familiar with these?" smiling, she pulled out a little china doll and held it to his face so he could get a good look at it. Almost instantly, his face paled as he recognized it. He was lost for words and could only stutter as he gazed frantically around him, trying to escape.

She pressed the gun harder into his side, "Don't bother. Okay? One word out your mouth that I don't like, and you're dead, all right?" she hissed.

He audibly gulped, his bloodshot eyes bulging and his skin was a bright red, under intense amounts of pressure. "Those china dolls…" he stammered.

Sakura cooed, "Oh, you recognize these? I thought you would." She smashed the doll against the bench and it immediately shattered, white powder spilling out from the inside.

Hirota grasped her arm, "Please! Don't kill me! I was only doing it for my family! I need the money!" he pleaded in a low tone.

She ignored him, and lifted up her sunglasses, "I have to say. It's an ingenious plan. Smuggling drugs inside of china dolls. It's hard to catch, it took us forever to track you down." She looked at him with a searing gaze.

He whimpered, "Y-you work for Tokyo PD? He stuttered pitifully.

She scoffed, "The police? Please. I'm part of a shady organization, just like you.  
His face brightened a little bit after hearing her words. "I don't care if you deal drugs. The problem is, you borrowed money from my boss, to set up your little network, and you've conveniently forgotten to pay him back. While you have this hugely successful business, he hasn't gotten anything back, understand your situation here?" She smiled pleasantly at him.

Clutching his hands together he begged, "I'll pay you back! I have the money!" he cracked.

She lessened the pressure of the gun and tilted her head, interested. "Where?" she asked simply. She smirked inwardly; low-lifes were so easy to get information out of.

Hirota's eyes gleamed, "I-It's back at my mansion down in Kyoto! It's all hidden behind the secret compartments, b-behind all the Picasso paintings!" he whispered fiercely, desperate to save his life.

She nodded, satisfied and placed the gun back in her black boots. Hirota, still heavily sweating, exhaled. "Can I go?" he asked meekly, unable to move, paralyzed by fear.

Sakura sighed, "Actually, no." She swiftly withdrew a syringe from the inside of her sleeve and plunged it into his leg. His eyes widened in surprise and then his eyes closed and he slumped over, effectively paralyzed. She threw the syringe on the ground and held his body up so that it wouldn't collapse on the floor. "Hirota, your body won't function the way it usually does but I know you can still hear me. You have less than 2 hours to live. I'm sure you have a lot to think about." She chuckled triumphantly and stared at his contorted facial expression. "Oh! And I forgot, thanks for the money." She smiled angelically once more.

Sighing, she gently placed his body down and contemplating his still figure on the ground for a moment she turned, put on her shades and left the body for the police to find.

"Damnit, that troublesome woman does whatever the hell pleases her." Shikamaru Naara grumbled, taking off his headset, and rubbing his temples tiredly.

Chouji Akimichi, age 25, glanced over at his best friend with a knowing smile. He was a big man with meaty arms and legs and had an enormous strength which made him one of Kurokage's most valuable muscle men. He had a kind heart though, besides the fact that he was a part of one of the most infamous criminal organizations, and always was merciful towards his opponents. He grabbed another handful of barbeque chips and grinned at his friend, "Sakura eh?" he asked with a gleam in his eye.

Shikamaru let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, yes, it's all her. She is the cause of all my problems." He moaned pathetically.

He leaned back, amused, "What did she do this time?" he asked trying to stifle his laughter by covering his mouth.

Shikamaru glared up at his friend, "She shut off the earpiece. What if something happens? It's like she never thinks. I find it hard to believe sometimes that she's our top assassin."

Chouji lifted an eyebrow to glance questioningly at him, "Say that around her and she'll beat you to death. Then, you'll find out why." He answered with a twitch of his lips.

Shikamaru punched him in the arm, "God, shut up Chouji." He groaned. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something? Killing an important senator or something?"

He laughed aloud, "I like how you worded that, but no. That's Shino's job today. Victim is an influential somebody that Anko doesn't like." His lips pursed thoughtfully, "Shino's probably got this job covered, and he didn't need me for one kill."

Anko was the head of their organization Kurokage. Their loyalties were ambiguous; they just did the missions and killed or protected anybody that Anko told them to. However, they had often interfered on many government missions, leading them to be on the most wanted list and had many assassination attempts on themselves. They got the job done and they got it done quick, reputing themselves as a top criminal force, rivaling another top organization Akatsuki. Akatsuki, which was another criminal ring led by the infamous Madara Uchiha.

At that moment, the door to the lab slammed open and Shino Aburame, walked in with the crisp white material of his shirt bloodied and stained. He held a gun in one hand and a heavy duty briefcase in the other hand.

Shikamaru let out a tortured moan as he saw Shino, "Aww, man. Come on! I lent you that shirt! Couldn't you have been a little cleaner!" he stared at his shirt aghast.

Shino glared at him, although it was hard to tell as he wore huge tinted shades that covered nearly half his face. His black hair stuck up randomly as if he had just woke up. "What was I supposed to do Shikamaru? Wear a bib while I was spraying bullets all over the place?" he asked sarcastically.

Shikamaru muttered incoherently to himself and shook his head in disgust. Chouji got up from his seat and smiled warmly, "Good to see you back, safe and sound."

Shino nodded stiffly and handed Chouji the briefcase. "The money is all in there, had to pry it out of his dead hands." He chuckled mirthlessly.

Chouji nodded, "Thanks. I'll send this up to Anko right now."

"No need to I'm right here, Akimichi." A languid voice came from behind, silky smooth.

Shino turned to face his superior, "Anko." He bowed his head mechanically.

Anko rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her purple tinted hair which was put up in a spiky ponytail, "No need for all this formal crap Aburame." She sighed and flopped onto the couch. She wore a gold cocktail dress and matching heels, quite unusual for her tomboy personality

"You going somewhere?" Chouji questioned, curiously.

She waved a careless hand, "Yeah. Some fancy shmancy party, which I intend to crash."

All 3 men turned to look at each other. Typical Anko. She leaned back with a sly smile, "Anyways, where is Haruno? I haven't seen her around lately." She purred.

Shikamaru's mood darkened, "Sakura's gone on the assassination mission, remember? Masaki Hirota?"

Anko nodded, "Ah. I remember. That reminds me! Poor man, I accidentally meant for her to kill a Masami Hirota." She shrugged. "It hardly matters anymore. Each person dealt in the black market. Whichever one is perfectly fine." She commented breezily.

Shikamaru noticed out of the corner of his eye, his earpiece, emitting a dim blue light. Sakura was calling him. He briefly contemplated ignoring it, but remembered Sakura's violent ways and hurriedly put the earpiece on and spoke irritably, "Hello?"

"Hello, my dear Shika-kun." her low voice greeted dryly.

He cleared his throat gruffly, "About time. So nice of you to hang up on me." He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings doing that. Forgive me, please." She begged mockingly.

He grit his teeth together in irritation, "Anyways, how did it go?" he forced himself to move on.

He hears her chuckle, "Oh you know, the usual. I pull out gun. He starts singing like a canary. I get info, I put away gun. He thinks he's safe. I kill him. It was actually very dull." She replied, sounding like she was reciting a poem.

He let out an easy sigh, "Good. I'll talk to you later; get to headquarters as soon as you can." He switched the earpiece off with immense satisfaction. Take that, Sakura. He turned to Anko, who was now lying on the couch with a glass of wine.

"That was just Sakura, her mission was a success." He reported dutifully.

Anko rolled her eyes, "Well, of course it was. It's Haruno here. She never does a half job, that's why I love her." She purred with a sly smile. Her eyes widened and she sat up, "That reminds me…" she recalled slowly. "I have another mission for her when she gets back." She mused softly.

Chouji glanced at Anko in curiosity, "What is it? Another assassination, she's getting tired of those." He chuckled.

Anko, shook her head, and smiled, "Of course not. This one's much more exciting." She took another swig of wine. "There's this company, that's annoying the hell out of me. A major corporation, and I need her to break it down from the inside, it's more satisfying that way." She added.

"And..?" Shikamaru prompted.

Anko glared at him but continued anyways, "I need her to get close to the heir of the company. Seduce him or whatever. I just need her to get him to spill out all his secrets. Get into the corporation and get whatever dirt she can find. Maybe kill a few people, whatever I feel like having her do. Mm, this wine is amazing." She let out a content sigh.

Shino spoke up, "And this heir's name?" he asked impatiently. His superior liked to tease them way too much.

Anko glanced up from her glass and smiled wickedly, "Uchiha Sasuke."

**A/N: So this is the first chapter and I hope you guys all enjoyed it! This is my first time writing in this genre…you can probably tell. T.T. Anyways, I would REALLY appreciate it if you guys would REVIEW. I probably will see how many review I get until I post the next chapter. **

**I have another story which is a high school fic Konoha's Prepsters. It's already got 11 chapters and its pretty good so check it out and be sure to review it and tell me what you think! **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you guys like it and will motivate me to keep on going on with this story, REVIEW!**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Surprise Surprise**

**Uchiha Corporation Tokyo, Japan**

**3:55 PM**

Sighing tiredly, Uchiha Sasuke sifted through the large stack of documents that sat on his mahogany desk in disarray. He growled under his breath. There were just too many things that needed to be done, papers, meetings, events, appointments; there was just no end to all the chaos. He rolled up the sleeves of his white button up shirt and leaned forward to speak into the intercom. "Ten Ten, bring me something." He spoke lazily.

His personal assistant's voice came over, "What do you mean by 'something'?" He could hear the irritation in her voice.

He smirked, he would just tease her. "Just anything, I need something to make me feel more relaxed." He replied carelessly, knowing how much his response would irritate her.

The intercom let out a high squeal, "Uchiha! Honestly, you are the most frustrating boss out there!" she huffed and then with a click, the speaker shut off promptly. Although he hadn't specified anything, he knew she would bring back something suitable. After all, she was his personal assistant; she had to know at least a thing or two.

His computer let out a loud beep signifying a new e-mail. He swiveled the chair to face the computer screen and checked the sender: _Naruto Uzumaki._

_Teme, _

_Want to meet up for some ramen at Ichiraku? I know it's not a fancy restaurant an Uchiha heir would be used to, but you have to come. I asked you to come but you have no choice. Ha! Be there at 7 pm or else…_

_Naruto Uzumaki, the BESTEST Captain of the Tokyo Police Department._

Sasuke had to crack a little smile as he read the signature. Naruto had been ecstatic when he found out he had been promoted to Captain, that it was all he ever talked about nowadays. He glanced at his watch, 4 pm. Damn. Didn't he have an Akatsuki meeting around 7? Double Damn. It was hard to be friends with a policeman when your family was deeply involved with a criminal ring.

A sharp noise sounded outside the door and suddenly, the Victorian double doors were flung open. His assistant, Tenten came through with a bottle of wine and a covered plate of what he assumed was food.

He looked amusedly on, "What was that noise?" he asked curiously.

Tenten shrugged, "I think I knocked over one of the busts trying to balance. Probably the Grecian one, or maybe it was the Romanian one…I can never tell the difference." She mused quietly to herself. She was a pretty woman of average height. She wore her hair in a formal bun and had wide innocent brown eyes. Although she had a childish appearance, she was tough-talking and excelled in every martial art and spoke multiple languages. She kept him on schedule, accompanying him on every business trip and she also kept him in line, making sure he didn't drink or party too much.

Her boss was a handsome man of 26 years who like to party after a hard day of work. He was bound to do well as the head of the Uchiha Corporation as he took the job seriously and was very dedicated. Although he had a harsh and uncaring demeanor, he had a sweet side that he rarely showed even to his close friends.

She placed the bottle of wine and the two crystal glasses on his desk. "One for me and one for you." She opened the bottle with ease and poured it with the skill of a waitress. Turning, she retrieved the plate of food and placed it in front of him, "Bon Appétit! Shrimp Primavera with sun dried tomatoes, basil and sautéed chicken!" she smiled at him while he stared at the food.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes wide with mock concern.

He glared up at her, "You know." He said, his teeth clenched together. "That I'm severely allergic to seafood."

Tenten dramatically opened her mouth in false surprise, "Oh my! I totally forgot! I'm so sorry Uchiha-san! If you can't eat it then I guess I'll have too." She grinned and then pulled out a fork and stabbed the penne pasta and chewed it eagerly.

Sasuke stared at her with contempt, "Tenten. You planned this." He glowered. "I'm so hungry." He whined childishly.

Tenten burst out laughing at his pout, "I'm kidding! I'm just messing with you, boss!" she pulled out a package from her coat pocket. "Here I got these just for you." She winked.

He opened the package suspiciously and pulling back the wrapper he saw the bright red paper of a Kit-Kat bar. He sighed gratefully, "Thank you. Just what I needed." He ripped open the candy bar eagerly and took a bite.

She looked on amusedly, "You know Uchiha-san, you put on a tough bravado but really you're just like a little child. Easily pacified by candy." She smiled warmly as she ate another forkful of pasta.

Sasuke eyed her suspiciously, "What are you up to Tenten? You never go out your way to please me. You and Hyuuga are probably planning something." He glowered and examined the chocolate.

Neji Hyuuga was his closest advisor and also his personal assistant's longtime boyfriend. It was infuriating how many times the two had conspired against him. From immature pranks to teepeeing his office, he should have fired them a long time ago. That wasn't really possible however as, they all came to be friends through sheer fate. It also happened that Neji was Hinata Hyuuga's cousin who was dating Naruto Uzumaki, his idiot best friend.

Glaring at him, she huffed, "Honestly! Do you want me to do something bad? Is it wrong that I'm acting nice once in a while?" She angrily stuffed a shrimp into her mouth.

He shook his head hastily, "Nah, It's just freaking me out a bit." He muttered. "By the way do I have anything planned around 7 tonight?" he asked, knowing full well she had his schedule memorized.

She paused and thought quickly, "Um, let's see, you had your appointment with Dr. Tsunade earlier, your corporate meaning before lunch, and then you—oh yes! You have your meeting with er—Akatsuki." She glanced around nervously as if expecting somebody to pop up behind her.

He smirked, "Relax. Nobody will hear anything, this room is soundproof."

She moaned in anxiety, "I can't help it! I still can't believe the Uchihas are all in this criminal ring! Can't I get arrested for knowing these things and not telling the police?" she pulled at her hair in anguish.

Rolling his eyes he spoke drily, "A little bit melodramatic aren't we today? Besides, you forced me to tell you. It's not as if we kill any—oh wait yes we do. It's not as if we—damn, think of anything worse."

"See?" she wailed. "It's really bad!"

Sasuke sighed, "Okay how about this. All the people we kill are involved in more dangerous things, so there's a plausible reason they have to die, feel better?"

She shook her head from side to side, "No! I still feel this urge to confess! I feel like I have something to be guilty for!" She paused and looked up, "Did you tell Naruto-kun yet?" she asked softly.

Sasuke snorted, "Are you serious? Do you think I want to be caught?" he looked at her in disbelief.

Tenten pursed her lips in disapproval, "Uchiha-san, he's your best friend and yet he has no idea what you really do for a living."

He laughed bitterly, "Get serious. He's a policeman, Tenten. Not to mention a captain of a prestigious division. Yes, I'll just go up and tell him, 'Oh, Naruto by the way, I'm part of an international crime ring!'" He suggested sarcastically.

She shook her head and opened her mouth to protest, "But-" he cut her off short with a searing glare. "Fine then, let's stop talking about it." She said with an air of dignity.

He smiled coldly, "Good." He retorted with clenched fists. With a formal tone he questioned, "How did the interviews go?" Tenten had gotten extremely busy and suggested he hire another personal assistant to help her with her workload. He had consented and told her to run her own interviews.

Her eyes narrowed and her lips tightened in a thin line, "Please do not remind me. The only people who wanted to interview were all admirers of you. This one girl, my god, Karin, she wouldn't stop talking about you. She stalks you Sasuke! You think you're safe but if you saw how many pictures she takes of you while you don't know you would be terrified!"

He let out a low chuckle, "That's just too bad for you. Perhaps a better applicant will show up tomorrow." He suggested.

Tenten shook her head, "No I already got somebody." She replied simply.

His eyebrow cocked upwards, "I thought you said you didn't get anybody, that most of them were fan girls." He said with a curious tone.

She smiled mysteriously, "Well, this one girl showed up that wasn't infatuated with you. The only one. Anyways, she seems well qualified, multilingual, masters degree, you know the typical valedictorian. She starts tomorrow morning, so I'll introduce the two of you." She replied offhandedly and handed him the resume. "She's pretty isn't she?"

He did a quick once over at the picture and agreed completely with Tenten. She had fair skin and eager jade eyes that brightened her face. She had unusual colored hair that hung in neat curls around her shoulders and framed her jaw line. Her smile was a little half smile that seemed to taunt him as if she knew something he didn't. Like she had a secret that he would never find out.

What was he thinking? It was just a smile, he was overreacting wasn't he? Still—she intrigued him, he almost couldn't wait to meet the lady tomorrow.

"Sakura Haruno, eh?"

**A/N: Chapter 2! Wow.. I want to thank you guys so much! There was a great response to Chapter One so I apologize for not updating faster. I hope you guys add this story to your favorites and review! I love reviews, the best! :) tee hee!**

**Perhaps you guys could give me some ideas, or if you want your OC to appear in this story as an Akatsuki or Kurokage member just let me know! I'd be more than pleased to add them in if you give me some type of description.**

**Let's see…nom nom nom. Oh yes, I know that this was sort of short. I apologize this first few chapters are sort of introductory. After that we get into the cool, explosion and gun fighting later. **

**THANK YOU to…**

**R-Sharky**

**.Saku.x**

**qawashere**

**Rohdaly**

**Amethyst Darkness**

**NinjaKrabz**

**bratkat2002**

**Gurglenator**

**mayday5393**

**You guys are awesome; please continue to support me through this story!**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Morning Visit**

**Uchiha Corporations Tokyo, Japan**

**8:49 AM**

A soft knock came at Sasuke's office door. He let out an irritated growl, "Door's open!" he glanced down at his blackberry and checked the time. It was almost nine o' clock. He had plenty of time before the corporate meeting and he had enough time to eat breakfast. He glanced up to see Tenten coming in with what he presumed was his meal.

Tenten came in looking perky as usual; she wore a raspberry colored skirt and a white button up under a black blazer. Her hair was down in neat curls instead of her usual matching two buns.

She smiled broadly, "Morning sunshine! Time to eat, I made omelets just for you!" she placed the plate before him and a glass of orange juice. She tsked as she looked at him, "You look horrible, like you got run over a truck sheesh, and didn't you sleep?" she shook her head in disapproval.

"Shut up." He muttered under his breath. The last thing he needed was a lecture from his personal assistant. He indicated towards the omelet, "Are there tomatoes?"

She laughed, "Of course, I wouldn't forget to put your favorite food in! She took the lid off, and the aroma of cheese, tomatoes and spices filled the air. She handed him a fork, "Eat it. Before I do." She commanded.

He rolled his eyes, but obliged, and took a bite. "When is the new secretary coming in?" he questioned while chewing on the omelet.

She glared at him, "Honestly! Close your mouth while you chew! What are you five?" She sighed in exasperation and handed him a napkin. "She's coming at nine. What's it to you? You're never interested in the rookies. Is there something about her that intrigues you?" she smiled slyly.

He pursed his lips thoughtfully, "Nothing, really." In fact, it was the exact opposite. He wanted to meet her right away. There was something about her face that was familiar. He couldn't place it and it was bugging him. Sakura Haruno, he mused, who was she?

Tenten nodded, "Uh huh, sure." She replied sarcastically. She didn't believe him for a moment. "So how's the food? I made it by myself pretty good right?"

He shrugged and met her gaze with a smirk, "I wouldn't have expected anything less from you—Sayuki." He smirked and continued eating, "Really, I thought you were a 'master' of disguises. That one was too easy." He snorted.

Sayuki's lips curled upwards and she reached up to the top of her head and pulled off the curly haired wig, her silver hair came cascading down her back. She opened her eyes and swiftly pulled out the brown contacts, revealing piercing golden eyes. "Bravo Uchiha-sama! You're skills have sharpened I have to say! Not like the time I disguised as Uzumaki-san and you didn't notice anything." She laughed at the memory.

He stared at her blankly, "What are you doing here? Aren't you busy doing things for Madara?" he asked dryly. Sayuki Takamura was Madara Uchiha's top advisor and a talented assassin with her ability to disguise and imitate other people. She was a kind woman but was extremely loyal to the criminal ring and had a ruthless side to her.

"Really Sasuke-kun, is that any way to greet an old friend? You always were the only one who could sniff out my disguises, what gave me away this time?" she tilted her head to the side curiously.

He let out a low chuckle, "You're hair." He answered simply. "Tenten never wears her hair down. Plus, she doesn't know how to cook. You forgot to do your research Takamura."

She sniffed, "Of course! Well is it my fault you're assistant has a weird hairstyle? I only had that wig on hand so I decided to use that wig." She sighed in disappointment.

"Why are you here?" he repeated simply, staring at her with narrowed onyx eyes.

She rolled her eyes, "Persistent aren't you?" She flipped back her sliver hair which was now streaked with blue highlights, "Here's the thing." She lowered her voice and glanced around her. "Watch your back, Akatsuki's planning something and it's got something to do with you."

Sasuke froze, "What do you mean?" his voice came out hoarsely.

She smiled, "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure your life isn't in danger but don't get involved with Akatsuki more than you already are. Akatsuki is infamous for its betrayals and back stabbing. The thing is Uchiha-san, I don't want you in any trouble, okay? I promised your parents I'd look after you." She looked at him solemnly.

He laughed bitterly, "Sayuki, stop acting like the big grown-up, even though you're a couple years older, I'm in my twenties already. I don't need a babysitter." He snarled. "My parents couldn't care less about me. I don't trust somebody who's knee-deep in Akatsuki."

She smiled sadly, "I know it's hard for you to trust me Uchiha-san. Here I am, Akatsuki's advisor and I'm telling you to watch out for them. Hypocritical, no? Just promise me that you'll be a little more cautious. Akatsuki doesn't have any qualms about using you just like they used me." She pleaded, her golden eyes softened.

Sasuke hesitated; there was something about Sayuki that was always genuine, even if she had gone down the wrong path in life. "Fine." He replied stubbornly, "Just stop hovering around me; I know what I'm doing."

She smiled and nodded, "Of course." She handed him a package. "But—just take this, just in case."

He took it examining it suspiciously, "What is it?" it felt heavy, metal-like.

"It's a phone that works and has reception no matter the location." She stated simply. "It'll help in tough situations, trust me." She smiled mysteriously.

A knock came at the door, "Sasuke? Can I come in?" Tenten's voice came over the other side of the door.

Sayuki glanced at the door and smiled wryly, "I better leave before she sees me holding this wig and knows what I'm up to." She chuckled. "Tenten just a minute!" she called out in a perfect imitation of Sasuke's voice.

He rolled his eyes, and waved her away, "Show off." He muttered.

She smiled, "You're just jealous." She whispered and then pulled up the window high enough for her to crawl out onto the roof. She steadied herself and stood upright on the rooftop "See you later, Sasuke-kun. Nice catching up with you." She flipped backwards out of his view and seemingly onto the streets, but he knew that she was safe, she had planned everything. Show off. First the disguises, then the imitation, and then the dramatic exit, typical Sayuki.

The real Tenten walked in, wearing the same raspberry colored skirt and black blazer, her hair in the regular two buns. Sayuki was after all, a master of disguise, he mused in his head. She held a clipboard in one hand and a coffee mug in the other, "Uchiha-san, Good morning! Sakura Haruno is here; would you like me to send her in?"

_Back in the lobby_

Sakura gazed around the lobby with awe. An ostentatious chandelier hung from the ceiling which was structured as dome. The marble floors shone and the patterns were subtle and elegant at the same time. She felt that perhaps she should have worn a floor length gown instead of her lavender ruffled blouse and her classic black pencil skirt. Her pink hair was neatly curled and her bangs bobby pinned back so that her emerald eyes stood out more than usual.

She was confident that this mission was going to be easy. Seduction missions were always a piece of cake. Men were easy to trick, as they only paid attention to the physical appeal of a woman. She smirked and crossed her arms patiently for the personal assistant to return. Was Tenten her name? Yes that was it.

She remembered Anko's words: _The Uchiha Company is involved directly with Akatsuki. I need you to get proof, as much proof as you can that they have dirty hands. The easiest way to do that? Seduce that boy Sasuke Uchiha. He's looking for a new assistant. The perfect way to get closer to him. The closer you get the more access you get to things. Hear me out, Sakura; I want you to crush that company.__ Absolutely no mercy. I have confidence you won't fail me._

Sakura knew that it was going to be easy, but why did she feel so uneasy? Was it because she was going in without a partner? Yes, that had to be it. It was her first solo mission in a long time. She would be fine. She took deep breaths and exhaled slowly. She would crush the Uchiha Company without any mercy. She could do it. All she had to do was trick one man. Sasuke Uchiha. That was it.

"Haruno-san?" Tenten's voice broke into her thoughts. Her head shot up, "Y-yes? I'm sorry, I was zoning out a little bit!" she let out an easy laugh.

Tenten smiled, "Don't be nervous. Uchiha-san is quite kind towards new applicants. You'll be fine." She reassured in a friendly tone. "Uchiha-san's only flaw perhaps is he is a bit flirtatious. So don't be put off if he's a little too forward." She smiled sheepishly.

Sakura smirked inwardly, Perfect. Just perfect.

"If you're ready, Uchiha-san is ready to meet you." Tenten ushered her towards a grand hallway.

She smiled, "Oh I'm ready, all right."

**A/N: So that was Chapter 3. Also really short. I apologize but anyways, I'll have longer chapters because all the introductory stuff is over. So tell me what you think! Reviews are the BESTEST thing ever! I love getting them! Haha so don't be shy about telling me your opinions because I love hearing from you guys.**

**Please tell me your suggestions on these 5 things:**

**About an OC that you would like to appear in this story. Please tell me about their appearance, their personality, what group they belong to, what they're strengths and weaknesses are and their names and maybe background stuff**

**What I could improve on or what I'm doing well on.**

**What you would like to happen in this story**

**What other pairings you would like in this story**

**What characters you would like to appear in this story**

**This OC Sayuki Takamura is not mine she belongs to mayday5393! A huge thank you for submitting her OC to the story. Tell me how I did with her; I didn't really know a lot about how to use her in the story so forgive me if she didn't turn out quite the way you expected! I apologize!**

**A huge thank you to the following people:**

**khyati16**

**kumikoX3chan**

**Myomi-chan**

**Amethyst Darkness**

**Tank**

**Sam**

**mayday5393**

**And to anybody else who took the time to read this story! Thank you all for your support I truly appreciate it! :)**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Udon Woman and Ugly Women**

**Tokyo Police Department, Downtown Tokyo**

**9:07 AM**

"Ay! Ino-chan! Is there any more ramen left in the pantry!" Naruto called from his office. He rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation. He was far too hungry to concentrate on any cases and a little ramen might help solve his problem. Naruto was a tall, seasoned detective and he was dedicated to his work, but outside of his job, he was never serious about anything else. He had a strong liking for ramen and his girlfriend Hinata Hyuuga who worked beside him in his division.

Ino Yamanaka, aged 26 glared over at her partner, and wondered how the hell he was the captain and she was the lieutenant. Naruto Uzumaki was older than her but he acted way younger and more immature than most kids she knew. She got up from her desk and let out a frustrated growl, "Damn you, Naruto." She muttered under her breath. She had to obey her superior's orders unfortunately. With her black pumps clicking against the polished floor, she made her way to the pantry and grudgingly opened the pantry to check its contents.

"There's no more ramen." A low voice informed her from behind. She jumped in shock and nearly pulled out her gun; she whirled around to face Sai, another detective on the force. He wore his usual brooding expression on his pale face and his black floppy hair looked even more mussed than usual. She saw immediately why he knew there was no ramen for he leaned against the concrete wall, slurping a bowl of instant ramen, glancing simply at her.

"You idiot!" she hissed. "That's Uzumaki's stash! I'm the one who'll have to go out and buy more ramen!" she crossed her arms and looked on at him furiously.

He rolled his eyes, "-And I care because why, Ugly?" he smiled a wide grin that was brimming with falseness. He straightened up, and she noticed that his black silk tie and crisp white shirt were wrinkled, to the point that no iron in the world would help him.

She put her hands on her hips, and leaned close to his face, "Don't. Call. Me. That." She growled, baring her teeth.

Sai nodded amusedly, "Sure thing." He knew how ticked off Ino could get, but that was precisely why he teased her so much. She could get mad so easy at the simplest prodding. By no means was she ugly, she was probably the prettiest girl in the department. She had long silken blonde strands that she always had in a high ponytail and she had wide blue eyes that could intimidate the toughest street criminal. She was ruthless and there was no question how she rose to the 2nd highest rank on the force. Of course, he would never tell her any of that. He would let her think what she wanted too.

Seeing that she was getting no reaction from him, she growled in utter exasperation and stomped out of the kitchen and almost crashed into Hinata who was carrying large stacks of paperwork, on her way to her desk.

"Aah! Sorry Hina-chan! Need some help with that?" she indicated towards the towering stack which covered her face.

Hinata blushed a bright red, "Ah! Yes please, so sorry to bother you Yamanaka-san!"

Ino waved a hand carelessly and took half the stack onto her arms, "Ino! Hinata, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Ino!" She smiled good-naturedly at the flustered woman. Hinata Hyuuga came from a rich company, but instead of pursuing the business field she helped out the police department by becoming their receptionist. She was a timid woman but was genuinely sweet and cute. She had long blue tinged hair and pale lavender eyes that always flickered nervously from side to side. She had a cousin, Neji Hyuuga who regularly visited her, Ino had the feeling that they weren't on the best terms as Hinata always went pale when he was around.

She placed the papers on her cluttered desk that was usually neat as a pin. Ino knew the cause of the mess. Hinata tried in vain, to straighten out her desk, flustered that it was in such a state, "I-I'm sorry, usually it's very neat. It's just today that-"

Ino smiled broadly, "Hinata, don't sweat it. It's the end of the month and there's lots of paperwork, I understand. It's not yours, "she said sweetly, "its NAURTO'S." she stated in a deadly tone, and glared over at her captain, who was playing with his action figure Ramen Man at the moment.

Hinata shook her head, "Ah no! It's partly my fault! If I had given him the paperwork earlier…" she trailed off shaking her head. "Yes. Naruto-kun is not at fault here. It's my fault." She muttered somberly.

Ino stared in disbelief at the woman, WTF? HOW THE HELL DID SHE NOT SEE WHAT A SLACKER HER BOYFRIEND WAS? She snorted, love truly was blind. She marched over to Naruto's desk and cleared her throat, preparing for her lecture.

He continued moving around the Ramen Man action figure and spoke without looking up, "Ino…did you know that Udon Woman is coming out?" he asked seriously.

"W-what? What the hell are you talking about?" she sputtered angrily, her face turning a bright red.

Naruto looked up concerned, "it's okay, Ino. I get a little behind on updates too. I just found out so you're not alone." He nodded in sympathy. "Yes, Udon Woman is making an appearance!" he clapped his hands together gleefully! "Udon Woman! Udon Woman! Udon Woman!" he chanted, his blue eyes sparkling.

Oh my god. Ino's eyes widened in horror as she realized that he wasn't even doing this to annoy her. He was actually, genuinely a freak. She snapped and slapped the side of his blonde head, "UZUMAKI! LISTEN TO ME! WE LIVE IN A CRIME FILLED CITY AND ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS DAMN UDON WOMAN-"

Naruto interjected, "Actually, Ramen Man is a little bit of more importance, but I'm not trying to be sexist or anything-"

"SHUT UP!" she bellowed. "GOD, NARUTO!" she snatched the figures and held it out of his reach. "FOCUS HERE! TELL ME ANY UPDATES AND THEN YOU'LL GET YOU ACTION FIGURES BACK!" she commanded as she leered over him.

She realized that the entire office had gone quiet behind her but she didn't care. She needed to stop picking after her pain in the butt boss. She snarled at him, "What are you waiting for?" she snapped angrily.

"Sheesh, aggressive much?" a voice questioned from behind her.

Ino didn't bother to turn and see who it was, she already knew. She also knew that if she turned around and saw his face, she would be even more ticked off than she already was. "Sai, I really don't need to hear what you think." She kept her voice even as she gazed at Naruto with a deadly intent.

Naruto hastily reached for the case folders and pulled out a pile of papers. "Oh! Here we go! This one is regarding Akatsuki! There's a tip from somebody anonymous-"

"-you know. I don't even know why we accept anonymous tips; they end up being fake most of the time." Sai yawned, lazily. "We should just disregard all the cases that are based on tips." He suggested.

Ino ignored his remark and gestured towards the report, "Well? What does it say?" she urged impatiently.

Naruto snorted, "It says that the Uchiha's are at the core of the Akatsuki crime ring. Nice one." He crumpled the report and was about to toss it, when Ino grabbed his hand, "Wait." She demanded sharply. "Think about it you idiot! There have been several rumors about that claim. It could be true." She mused.

Naruto laughed, "Come on, Ino! Sasuke wouldn't let that happen!" he grinned as he heard her suggestion.

Ino shook her head, "it's worth checking out. We need a mole down there, ASAP." She persisted. "Come on, Naruto, if we have that many claims, we should at least have somebody investigate."

"Think Ino." Sai's bored voice came.

"What is it?" she asked irritably. She was really going to strangle Sai in front of everybody if he was going to keep on being annoying.

Sai let out an easy chuckle, "We already have a mole down there."

Naruto sat up sharply, "Who authorized that?" His blue eyes hardened fiercely.

Sai rolled his eyes, "Easy Naruto. It was a few years ago, back before you were appointed to this position. Our mole has been down at Uchiha Corporations for a while. I'll give them a call, remind them to look out for stuff." He winked and slipped out of the office with a sly smile.

Naruto muttered unhappily under his breath, "I don't like this. Nothing I can do though, if Tsunade-sama ordered it when she was still captain."

"Yes, the good old days, when we had a competent leader, oh oops! Did I say that aloud?" Ino smirked mockingly.

Naruto glared at her, "Yes you did. Now get out of my office." He growled in irritation.

Ino laughed and headed out, pausing at the doorway. "You can't inform him of the mole. Its strict policy," she narrowed her eyes, "you know that, I hope." She said grimly.

He nodded but looked guiltily at the phone, as if he had been planning to tell his best friend of the mole in his company before she had mentioned it.

Ino shook her head and rebuked him sharply, "Uzumaki, you have to face reality. Secrets, betrayals are something that's going to be a regular thing when you're in the world of crime." She informed him somberly. And with a click of the door lock, she was gone.

**Meanwhile back at…**

**Uchiha Corporations, Tokyo, Japan**

**9:10 AM**

Lost in her thoughts, Tenten mused silently. She was sure that before she had walked in to Sasuke's office, she had heard another voice. A female voice, it didn't sound at all familiar and when she came in, not a person was in sight. She had noticed however, the window, which was ajar. Was it possible that somebody could have escaped? Impossible. Yes, it was highly improbable. His office was located on the 20th floor, a drop from there would have indeed, resulted in death. She was over-thinking things and now was not a time to get lost in her mind. She had a new assistant to show around. Sakura Haruno was who she had to focus on.

Tenten led the young woman through the brightly lit hallway and attempted to engage her in conversation, "So, Miss Haruno, it says on your resume that you enjoy traveling and you've been to multiple countries. Where have you liked it the best?"

Sakura turned, apparently surprised at Tenten's effort, "Oh! Well, you know what they say, no place like home, right? Though I have to say I enjoy visiting Sweden very much." She smiled at the memory and clasped her hands together. "Excuse me for my lack of focus," she laughed nervously, "I get quite anxious when I meet my superiors." She admitted sheepishly. Twisting her long pink hair around her fingers, she glanced from side to side, in awe of her surroundings. The velvet carpeted floor and the oil paintings that hung on the creamy colored walls were just one sign of the Uchiha's wealth.

With a little smile, Tenten reassured her, "There's no need. Although Uchiha-sama can be a little infuriating at times, he is very fair. You're lucky to have him as a boss and don't worry, I'll be there to guide you along the way." She paused, recalling something. "That reminds me! My co-worker, Kiba Inzuka will work alongside you. He'll be able to assist you when I'm busy elsewhere."

"Tenten-san, how long have you been working here?" she inquired curiously.

"Wow. Um, let me see. I've been working for the company first as an intern, 7 years ago and then I was an office worker, and then I became Uchiha's personal assistant 2 years ago." She nodded, affirmatively and then made a sharp right turn. "Ah-here we are." She murmured quietly. She knocked on the door briskly and called out, "Uchiha-san! I'm here with the new secretary."

Sakura's heart beat quickened. Why was she getting so nervous? She always managed to keep a cool head and a calculated mind, why was she acting like this way now? Exhaling sharply she focused back on the door that separated her and the target. I can do this, she reminded herself confidently. I can do this.

A muffled voice came from the other side, "Come in, Tenten." She couldn't really make out the voice but it had to be Sasuke Uchiha, who else would it be?

Tenten glanced at Sakura, "You okay?" she squeezed her shoulder, "It's fine if you feel a little nervous. Remember, I'm with you all along the way." She smiled warmly, her brown eyes crinkling at the edges.

Sakura nodded a little bit too rapidly, "I'm fine." She replied absentmindedly.

Tenten hesitated but inclined her head into a little nod and opened the door slowly. "After you." She whispered.

Sakura swallowed and putting on an air of confidence she walked into the room to come face to face with the Sasuke Uchiha. She had to lock her jaw tight together to keep it from lowering down to the ground. In all her years of espionage, she had never seen a better-looking guy. Ever. He had to be around her age if not a little older and he exuded cockiness and arrogance, and she had to admit that he had every right too. He had spiky dark hair that concealed his eyes partially which gave him an aura of mystery and had searing onyx eyes that narrowed as he studied her as well. He wore an expensive suit that highlighted his tall and muscular figure making him appear even more intimidating then she thought he would be.

She bit her lip to refocus herself and proffered her hand, "Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you Uchiha-san, I look forward to working with you."

He glanced down at her hand as if not quite knowing what to do with it. He brushed it aside, "No need for all the formalities Haruno." He addressed her abruptly.

Her eyes widened in confusion, what the hell? Why was he acting so rude? According to Tenten he was supposed to be flirtatious? She bit her lip harder and inhaled again, calm down; he's just stuck up in the head. It bothered her more than a little bit that he was ignoring her, she had secretly wanted him to play right into her hands. _God_, she thought, _it's just another target,_ nothing else. She scolded herself for thinking otherwise. She dropped her hand and arched a perfect eyebrow, "If you wish Uchiha-san." She replied coolly.

Tenten came up behind her and noticed the cold exchange between the two, "Now, now. If she's to be your persona assistant, Sasuke, you have to establish some amity between yourselves. Shake hands." She smiled but both Sasuke and Sakura heard the steely edge to her command.

Sasuke grimaced and held out his had mechanically. Sakura ignored it and smiled sweetly, "If Uchiha-san does not wish to, it's quite all right with me. I only wished to shake his hand for formality reasons; otherwise I have no wish too." She replied with a smirk_. Take that Uchiha_, she silently added.

Tenten saw the insult hidden in her words and smiled inwardly. Sakura Haruno had guts after all. She doubted if after she saw her anxiousness in the hallway.

Sasuke, slightly miffed, withdrew his hand. He gritted his teeth together in slight annoyance, that girl had the nerve to insult him like that. Well, he wouldn't let her get away with a petty little victory. He drew himself up to full height and glanced at her disdainfully, "You're average looking." He critiqued Sakura and glanced back at Tenten, "I told you to get me somebody pretty." He drawled out.

Sakura turned crimson in anger. She nearly screeched out in anger if she hadn't remembered the mission. She needed to make him fall for her, not hate her. She clenched her fists together, if she hadn't she would have ripped him to shreds right then and there. Damn Uchiha.

Tenten semi-gasped at his behavior, what was up with him? Usually he was polite and courteous, never too kind and never too cruel. It was like he had beef with the new secretary for some mysterious reason. She shook her head at his lies, he had never requested for a pretty secretary. In fact, he left her the responsibility of choosing one, to her own preferences. She smirked as she thought of a way to humiliate him. "Actually Uchiha-san, don't you remember? You saw her photo and couldn't stop looking at it; you kept muttering that she was quite the beauty." She smiled and winked in Sakura's direction. Score for Team Tenten and Sakura. Sakura smiled in gratitude and pretended to cough behind her sleeve as she tried not to start laughing.

Sasuke glared at his assistant of 2 years who was now teaming up with a girl she just meant. "Yeah-and I'm pretty sure you just made that up." He muttered under his breath. He rummaged around his desk, trying to look like he was doing something. He coughed and spoke severely, "Tenten, let's hurry this up, tell Sakura her duties and then move on, I'm quite busy today, I have a meeting tonight." He emphasized the last part to which Tenten hastily nodded and paled. This didn't get by Sakura's hawk-like eyes and she observed it with interest. The meeting probably regarded Akatsuki. So Tenten knew about Akatsuki? That was very useful information.

She was broken out of her little reverie when the door slammed open causing all three of them to jump in surprise. In ran a lithe redhead wearing a tight cocktail dress and heels that were a few sizes too small. She had an unusual hairstyle, one side was long and combed while the other side was unkempt and short, bold frames completed her eccentric look.

Beside her, Tenten gritted her teeth together in annoyance and she muttered a curse under her breath. Sasuke sighed wearily and glanced at the redhead with similar annoyance in his eyes, "Rin." He greeted simply, his tone flat.

The woman squealed and hugged him close to her body, "SASUKE-KUN! Oh, my god! I've missed you sooo much!" she gushed. "Milan was so boring without you, although the fashion shows were all the rage, that's where I got this ADORABLE new dress. Do you like it?" she giggled and spun around on her heels.

Sakura examined the dress and saw the color was a hideous puke greenish-yellow and it was gaudily decorated with rhinestones and jewels. Adorable was not one of the best words to describe her train wreck of a dress.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and exhaled sharply, "Yes, it is quite—unusual." He replied dryly.

Tenten rubbed her temples, "God, Rin, shut up." She muttered. "I swear, I get a headache every time I'm around her."

Rin glanced at Sakura with a condescending air, "Who's this? Another one of your workers Sasuke-kun?" she asked snootily. She giggled and petted his shoulder, "You are just so rich! You can afford all these workers who are at your beck and call! I'm so glad, that we're going to be married one day!" she bragged, glancing at Sakura to smile malevolently.

Sakura froze, wait what? He was engaged, that just made her mission ten times harder. She had to make him unfaithful. Well, it seemed like that wasn't going to be that hard seeing as how it was Rrin she had to take from. That would be immensely satisfying. She spoke up and put on a fake smile, "You guys are engaged? Let me offer my congratulations. I'm the new personal assistant, Sakura Haruno."

Rin turned to face Sakura head on, "Yes. Sasuke is mine. We're engaged, we have been for about a few months." She held up her left hand and waved it around smugly. "It was bound to happen; I mean after Sasuke's family, the Hayazaki's are the second most powerful. It was an arranged marriage, but you know, really it was fate." She giggled and leaned closer to Sasuke.

Sakura smirked at Sasuke, "Lovely fiancée you have here Uchiha-san." She said mockingly.

Sasuke looked surprised as if he just remembered that she was there, he narrowed his eyes. "Tenten, show Haruno to her workspace and show her the ropes."

Tenten looked relieved to be leaving and immediately grasped Sakura by her hands, "Yes sir. Don't need to tell me twice." She muttered under her breath with relief.

Sakura let herself be dragged outside and contemplated the situation. She had thought it would be a boring mission at first but it was turning out way different than she expected. Taking out Sasuke Uchiha would be more fun than she thought; she couldn't wait to see Rin's face especially after the aftermath of things. She chuckled to herself and made a mental note to contact Shikamaru during her lunch break.

_Watch your back Uchiha._

**A/N: So this is Chapter 4! I cranked this one out faster than usual because I was so happy! :):) So many reviews and alerts and ohmy! I was just so happy…so happy. Ahem! Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a little bit longer as a treat to all your support! PLEASE! REVIEW! I LURV REVIEWS MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE! I literally jump for joy when I see one in my mail I'm like YIPPPEEE! Haha okk sorry…now you probably think I'm the weirdest author on this site…I probably am. So likee halfway throught writing this I realized that I named his fiancee Karin and I mentioned Karin already in the previous chapter as the stalker girl. So I was like OH CRAP! I felt lazy so I just changed her name to Rin. SO original..i know. :)**

**Anyways…yesh. Thank you very much too…**

**Mayday5393**

**Oblivion's Creed**

**kumikoX3chan**

**xox-popper**

**4ever**

**Myomi-chan**

**maidsama4real**

**AkiraxArika**

**Amethyst Darkness**

**Lee **

**BIG FAT HUGS TO ALL OF YOU GUYS WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ THIS!**

**Haha so you guys like the part about the police station? I just put that in to prolong the amount of time that it would take to get to the part where Sakura and Sasuke meet. Yesh, I'm very evil like that. By the way, Rock Lee is also a policeman…yes. He IS in the story. I can't leave out my favorite character. Other Konoha 12 people are in the police department. It just happened that Naruto, Hinata, Sai, and Ino were the only ones introduced in this chapter. So I hope you guys enjoyed it, and REVIEW to let me know how I'm doing! Much appreciated!**

**So just as a side note, I'll update when I get a certain number of reviews. Yes, so please review so that when I see the amount of reviews I'll be more eager to get the chapter finished. I am that desperate. T.T**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**Uchiha Corporations, Tokyo, Japan**

**10:00 AM**

Tenten rushed out of the room with a sour expression, "Rin Hayazaki needs to rot in hell!" she spat out venomously her eyes darkened with rage and annoyance. Her fists clenched together tightly at her sides as she stomped down the hallway and into the elevator.

Sakura hurried alongside the angry woman and put on a concerned expression, "Rin Hayazaki, who exactly is she?" she asked curiously as the elevator doors slid closed. She was genuinely curious. Anko hadn't told her about any fiancée, it would delay change her plans a little bit but she was able to adapt. She smiled inwardly; there wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

Tenten pushed the down button violently and huffed angrily. "Only the most self-obsessed person. The only thing she loves more than herself is Sasuke. God! Just thinking about her makes me went to puke!" Tenten's eyes burned intensely. "Rin Hayazaki is his fiancée of half a year. He's been trying to put off the marriage, but the Hayazaki clan is rushing the marriage. They want the two to be married by the end of the year."

Sakura nodded, absorbing the information thoughtfully, "So, he doesn't want to be married to her?" she asked with a little feeling of pleasure bubbling up in her stomach. She instantly frowned at her reaction.

Adjusting her skirt, Tenten smoothed her clothes over and patted her hair to recompose herself. "I don't know, Sasuke is hardly an 'open book' he rarely tells anybody anything, except for Uzumaki that is." She replied offhandedly, with her eyes still gleaming angrily.

That piqued Sakura's interest, "Uzumaki? As in Naruto Uzumaki?" she asked without thinking. She almost clasped her hand over her mouth as the words came spilling out. Damnit that could've blown her cover. She had known Uzumaki as the most dedicated officer on the force. He was ruthless when it came to criminals; he had even managed to take down quite a few Kurokage agents.

As she had anticipated, Tenten looked over in surprise. "You know Uzumaki?" she asked her eyes wide with curiosity.

Sakura panicked and thought frantically but only for a second. "Yes, Uzumaki." She lied smoothly. "My friend's son is a big fan of cops. He visited the police department once and told me all about his visit. Apparently he visited the division Uzumaki works at. The little boy, looked up to Uzumaki-san and wanted to be like him one day, that's why his name sounded so familiar!" she laughed easily. She grinned, she prided herself on her innate ability to come up with lies so easily and keep a straight face.

Tenten nodded unenthusiastically; obviously she wasn't interested in her story. "Yes, so anyways, Sasuke's parents arranged the marriage with her parents as a business deal. He accepted, but ever since, has been trying to avoid her. He sends her all over the world, Milan, Paris, London, New York, you name it." She chuckled bitterly.

Sakura contemplated her findings. Sasuke had a fiancée, but according to Tenten, she was a pain in the butt and Sasuke would be more than happy if she was gone. And then there was this Naruto Uzumaki. Supposedly, he was his confidant and best friend, to her, he was her information resource. Her hand brushed against her leg and she felt the knife's cold metal against her skin. She was here to get information, and kill if necessary, she knew that. She threw a furtive glance at Tenten who was still mumbling angrily to herself. Even Tenten's life might have to be sacrificed, if it came to it. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed silently, _God please no! Don't make me kill anybody that is innocent!__ Please don't make me kill anybody—like last time._

Tenten's inquiring voice broke into her silent pleas, "Earth to Sakura! We're here! Hello?" she laughed amusedly at her new co-worker's blank gaze.

Sakura snapped out of her reverie and noticed that she was still in the elevator while Tenten was on the other side, holding open the door for her. "Oh! Sorry, I-I was daydreaming a bit." She ducked her head, putting on an embarrassed façade.

"I noticed." She remarked dryly. Sakura followed her out of the elevator and found herself in a completely different themed hallway. The walls were a shiny white and abstract paintings hung from them. There was no carpeting, only a thin silver strip that ran all along the floor.

Sakura glanced around at her surroundings, so this was Uchiha Corporations. She then followed Tenten as she turned sharply and met a thick steel door that strangely enough, had no handle. Only a single slot at eye level was on the door. Sakura glanced at Tenten questioningly, "What is this?"

Tenten removed an identification card from her skirt waistband and inserted it in the slot, a green light flashed from the opening and there was a soft beep. Tenten stepped backward and pushed Sakura back as well. She soon saw the reason why as the door swung open hitting the wall behind it with a loud thud and then a hissing noise came. Sakura's eyes widened, impressed. Leave it to the Uchiha's to have the high-tech security. They stepped over the threshold and this time, they were in another room that was completely white, from the ceiling to the ground. Like the entrance, there was only one steel door and it had no handle as well.

"What's the security here?" Sakura asked casually, eyeing the door which had a keypad on it. Instead of numbers or letters, there were shapes on the pad. There were triangle, square, circle, heart, diamond, and oval. All placed neatly in one line.

Tenten sighed, "Just sit tight and watch. Soon you'll have to do this troublesome procedure every day when you come to work." She turned back to the keypad and swiftly entered in the code on the keypad. Her fingers moved so rapidly that it would have been almost impossible to discern if she hadn't been a trained agent. Square, square, diamond, oval, heart, heart, circle, and then she had pressed the circle and the oval button together. The door slid open to reveal a long marbled hallway. Along the walls were little offices so that as you passed by, you passed by glass-windowed offices that made up the wall.

"Will I work here?" Sakura asked glancing in on the workspaces. The rooms were decently sized and all had large oak desks in the center and various other furniture pieces. Each room was completely made out of glass so that you could see your co-worker in the other room and you had a view, outside of the building.

Tenten scoffed and shook her head. "Nope, you are working alongside me. These people are the office workers, you are an assistant. And while I'm at it, I'll tell you some rules. Each person works for a minimum of 8 hours every day, the max is 23." Sakura's eyebrows rose, questioningly. 23? So you had to be off at least one hour. Tenten continued. "Lunch breaks differ for each level you work at. Office workers, have a later lunch break than assistants. However, assistants will need to accompany their bosses whenever they need them. Got it? So if Uchiha-san happens to have an important corporate meeting for 3 hours that starts at your lunch break, you can kiss your sandwich goodbye." Tenten reported briskly. "Another thing, your identification card is your life. Lose it and you can't get anywhere. You need an identification card for the elevator, various rooms, buildings, and even, getting your meals."

Sakura furrowed her brows, "Where's my identification card?" she asked with slight impatience. She wanted to meet for lunch with Shikamaru as soon as she could.

Tenten continued down the hallway that had to stretch at least a tenth of a mile. "That's where we'll be going next. I'll show you to your assigned workspace and hand you your identification card there and all the papers you need. Another thing, don't piss Uchiha off." She added with a wry smile.

"Got it." She murmured under her breath. According to Intel, Sasuke Uchiha wasn't deeply involved in Akatsuki as others were. The main thing he did was assassinate and he did it excellently and precisely so, which made him a reputed killer. If indeed, her cover was blown, she knew that he would kill her without any hesitation. Her heart gave a pang and she clenched her fists together tightly, _Focus, Sakura._ She reminded herself, for what seemed the billionth time today.

Glancing at her watch she read the time, 10:15. She would need to contact Shikamaru for a briefing after Tenten showed her the ropes. At the end of the hallway were impressive steely double doors which had odd squares on either side. Tenten sighed exasperatedly and placed each hand on each square. A green light emanated, tracing the shape of her hand on the square and then several beeping noises followed. A mechanical voice came from the door, "Tenten—Level 4 recognized. Access granted."

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Thank you." She muttered sarcastically under her breath. She glanced at Sakura and indicated to the door, "Just put your hands on each square and relax. The system needs to pick up your hand shape for security purposes and identification." Sakura did as she was instructed and instantly, a vibrating sensation flowed through her fingertips and she felt a tingling shoot up her arms. The mechanical voice came again, "Sakura Haruno—Level 3 recognized. Access granted." The door slid open to reveal a large, regal conference room. A wooden oval table stretched across the length of the room and tall-backed chairs were spaced evenly along the table. Behind the head of the table were a dying fireplace and a stone mantle that held a huge painting of the founder of the Uchiha Company. Fugaku Uchiha.

Sakura turned to Tenten, "The security here is very impressive, who orchestrated everything?" she asked while glancing around her surroundings.

Tenten rolled her neck in an attempt to loosen up, "Uh-Kiba Inzuka. The co-worker I was telling you about. He's in charge of security, all the bodyguards, the cameras, the firewalls, the door locks, you name it. I think he used to work for the FBI back in America so that's how he came up with all that security we went through. It's very complete, but a pain in the ass to get through every single day." She grumbled.

Sakura blinked, FBI huh? That was interesting. Kiba Inzuka was in charge of security, he would be an important pawn in her chess game. She made a mental note to visit him sometime.

Tenten led her out of the conference room and into another elevator. "This is a mini-elevator that only assistants are permitted to use. It accesses all the floors that assistants work on. Let's see-you work on…floor 4." She pushed the button and soon, they were brought up to the correct floor. "It's rare for a Level 3 worker to be admitted to Floor 4, but you're an exception as you work directly for Sasuke-san. And—here's where you'll work." She pointed to a cherry wood door that looked as if it had been laminated. There was a name plate already on the outside of the door for her. Tenten withdrew a key and unlocked the door and handed the key over. "Don't lose that." Sakura nodded and just stood outside the door. Tenten rolled her eyes, "Well don't just stand there! Check out your workspace!" she urged.

Sakura hastily walked in and stopped short immediately. Holy crap.

Tenten followed her, "Well, will it do?" she asked breezily.

"W-will it do? It's like a hotel suite!" Sakura sputtered in a high-pitched tone.

Tenten smiled, obviously pleased that she liked it. "Well, that's the point. Most of the times, you'll be out at late hours and when you come back, you're too tired that you can just bunk out here. I do it at least twice a week." She shrugged.

Sakura circled the room which was absolutely pristine and spacious. The floor was soft, carpeted in a light sandy color. The back wall had three windows, each with a spectacular view of the grassy highlands and was curtained with simple cream colored fabric. Her desk was laid out in front of the middle window and was moderately sized with a laptop already placed in the center, with a white lamp perched on the corner. To the right of the room was a patterned sofa that was easily, big enough for her to lie down on. A silvery throw blanket was neatly placed over one arm and a matching pillow rested on the opposite side. A coffee table was placed in front of the sofa and had an orchid plant in the center and a couple of books stacked neatly next to it. To the left of the room was a queen sized bed with eggshell white bedding and pillows with a silver flowery design upon it. A night table was placed to the right of the bed with a classic lamp placed on it. To the left of the bed was a large dresser that would be more than enough for her things.

Tenten walked around aimlessly, "Cafeteria is one the fifth floor, you can get anything you want, and everything is free, courtesy of the company. It's one of the perks of working here." She glanced at Sakura who was still wandering around in awe, "So, on to what you have to do."

Sakura shook herself out of her amazement and looked at Tenten, "Yes. I'm here to work, sorry about spacing out." She apologized sheepishly.

Tenten shrugged, "It's normal, don't worry. Anyways, you're right, let's get down to business." She stared intensely at her, "You are basically, Uchiha's attendant. What he wants, you get. Got it? You are going to on call 23/7, but don't worry. If he dismisses you, it's unlikely he'll call you afterwards, unless it's an emergency. You are usually going to be dismissed around midnight and you report back, bring his breakfast in around 8:30. Keeping up with me so far?" Sakura nodded, so far so good. "Okay, you'll have to accompany him on all his outside engagements and arrange his meals and his appointments. Trust me on this, carry around a notepad. There's no way you can remember everything." She handed Sakura a file. "That's all the stuff you need to fill out and your I.D. is there, keep that on you at all times. Sakura pulled out the card and attached it to her skirt waistband as she had seen Tenten do. "You're a Level 3 currently, most worker start at Level 1, but you're lucky. If you gain his trust and you've been around for a while, you'll rise to Level 4 in no time. Only executives can be Level 5. Oh! I almost forgot." She dug into the pocket of her blazer and pulled out a blackberry.

Sakura pulled out her own phone, "I already have one, thanks. I don't need another one."

Tenten threw the phone at her anyways, which she caught expertly, "This is the company-issued phone. Sasuke-san will contact you using that phone; contact other associates using that phone as well, your contacts list is updated regularly, as new employees come in. For example, because of your hiring, everybody now has your number on their phone to contact you, strictly for business reasons, of course."

Sakura nodded slowly and slipped the phone into her pocket. It no doubt, had a tracker on it and could trace her phone calls on it. She smirked, very clever indeed.

Tenten glanced at the time on her own blackberry phone. "Hm. Well, I have to go now, there's a problem in HR that I have to attend to. Right now, you're free to do anything, until Sasuke-san needs you." She paused and then met Sakura's gaze, "If you need anything, feel free to ask. I'm hoping to be friends, rather than just co-workers. My office is down the hallway." She smiled warmly.

She returned the smile, "Thanks, Tenten. I'll see you around?"

Tenten nodded, "Yeah. See you later." She grinned and then turned to leave through the door.

Sakura held her breath and listened to the clicking of her heels, slowly fade away. She rushed to the door and then locked it; she then proceeded to close the curtains. Whipping out her own phone she dialed Shikamaru's number. It rang only once before she heard his languorous voice, "Hello?"

"Shikamaru, it's me, slug." She cringed as she used the codename, she had always hated.

"I was wondering when you would call, I was getting bored." He informed her lazily.

"Shut up, you idiot." She growled under her breath. "Listen, can I meet you for lunch?" she asked.

"Come on! Do I have to? That means I have to get all dressed up in a disguise, steal a car and then drive all the way back and then destroy the car. Please, I'd rather not." He complained.

"Shikamaru, I swear! It's for debriefing; I'll make sure Anko learns that you didn't want to come." She added slyly.

She heard the panic in his voice, "Fine, fine! I'll be there, where do you want to meet?"

Smiling she replied, "The pizza parlor down on 27th avenue. 15 minutes, see you there." She lid her phone shut, knowing that he would have whined even more if she had stayed on the line.

She put her purse down on the bed and took out the black wig she had brought; it was time for some fun.

**Pasta Pizza Parlor, 27****th**** avenue, downtown Tokyo**

**11:15 AM**

Shikamaru sighed as he got out of the brick red truck he had just stolen minutes earlier. If there was something that he hated, it was having to leave his tiny abode down at Kurokage headquarters. There, he was free to do anything, eat anything without having to move more than he needed to. He also hated getting in disguises. It took way too much energy to try to turn into somebody completely different and he would have rather sent Shino, but he had gotten the Anko threat. Damn the Anko threat.

He shoved his hands into his oversize plaid flannel and slouched down tiredly. He walked into the Pizza Parlor he immediately spotted Sakura in disguise as one of her aliases, Amane Toyama. Of all her disguises, Amane's was her favorite. She wore a black, blunt bob and had on cobalt blue contacts that were emphasized by her thick blue shades that looked straight out of a comic book. She also wore a ridiculous ruffled dress that made her bottom half look twice the size of her upper half. Over the dress she had on a hot pink cardigan and a studded belt. Glancing underneath the table, he saw that she had on neon yellow crocs. He looked around, uneasily, it was a crowded place, ideal for a secret meeting and in the bustle of people, and Sakura's disguise looked hardly out of place.

He slid into the booth across from her and glared at her. "I hate Amane. Couldn't you have dressed up more subtlety?" he asked glancing around nervously.

Sakura eyed his disguise. He wore a wig that gave him floppy brown hair and bangs that partially covered his green contacts. He had put on a brown beard and a baseball cap which gave him a completely different look. "I'm impressed." She stated, completely ignoring his question, "You went all out on your disguise." She smiled, her purple lips curving upwards.

He rolled his eyes, "Let's get on with this, I'm getting itchy because of this stupid beard." He growled.

She held up her hands, "Fine, grumpy gills. I have to hurry up too, my boss could call me any second." She pulled out the blackberry, "It's a company issued phone and I'm pretty sure it has a tracker on it. Can you remove it?"

Shikamaru examined the phone, "Yeah, it has a decent tracker on it, something that I can remove easily. Yeah, not a bad tracker at all, it has a 3E4S programming wired around it, that'll make things go slowly but it's nothing that the HTD3 process won't fix." He muttered under his breath, already taking apart her phone.

She raised her eyebrows, "Okay. I'll leave you to your nerd talk and go to the bathroom." She rolled her eyes and got up to go. She inched her way through the crowded restaurant; earning strange looks from every table she passed by. Finally, after squeezing by countless people she reached the bathroom. The door swung open suddenly and a tall, statuesque woman, around her age, came out.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there!" she bowed over to apologize. The woman's appearance was quite strange as she had light silvery hair that had blue highlights running down the strands. Her eyes were a soft golden that were kind but knowing all at once. The woman walked by and Sakura's eyes flickered downward, the woman had dropped something. She recognized immediately what it was. It was an identification card from the Uchiha Company. She examined it closely,

_LEVEL 5 Executive_

_Sayuki Takamura_

_Field: Inner Operations_

"Miss!" she called after the woman. The lady stopped in her tracks and then saw her identification card in Sakura's hand. "You dropped this!" she handed back the card, observing this Sayuki Takamura even more closely.

Sayuki smiled broadly in relief, "Oh, thank you! I would have been in deep trouble if you hadn't picked it up. Thank you very much! What is your name?"

Sakura responded quickly, "Amane Toyama."

"Amane Toyama, well thank you very much for your help!" she hurried back and Sakura watched as she left the pizza parlor and left down the street. What was 'Inner Operations'? She mused silently. Could it be Akatsuki? She wondered but brushed away the thoughts and returned to her seat, not needing to freshen up any more.

Shikamaru was still toying around with the phone, wire protruding in every direction and pieces of metal scattered around the table. "Careful!" she hissed. "People will think you're making a bomb."

Shikamaru barely acknowledged her, "Uh huh. Anyways, did you learn anything useful?"  
Sakura shook her head, "Not quite. It's only been my first day, I need to be promoted, in order to gain higher access to things." She muttered.

Shikamaru looked up at her, "It's a simple matter of seduction, Amane." He replied dryly.

She glared at him irritably, "That's another problem, he has a fiancée who would bite my head off if she saw me even close to him." She growled, why did Rin make her so mad? It wasn't like she really cared for that arrogant bastard. She fumed silently in her head.

"A fiancée huh? That complicates things a bit." He muttered, now putting back her phone. "Almost finished." He murmured. He pressed the final piece of metal back onto her phone and handed it back to her, "Here, it is now tracker free." He said with an air of smugness.

"Thank you very much, nerd." She grinned and slipped the phone back in her pocket. "If I need anything, I will contact you later, or I'll contact Chouji, either way." She stated briskly.

Shikamaru nodded, "Be careful." He warned. Even though she could be the bossiest person on earth, she was kind and trusted people without thinking, she was vulnerable and Shikamaru didn't want to see her die. They were best friends who had a love-hate relationship.

She smiled and left the parlor and he watched her leave. The waiter came up to him and handed him a piece of paper, "The check, sir."

Shikamaru glanced up at him, "What do you mean, I didn't eat anything." He replied slightly annoyed.

The waiter let out a wary sigh, "Yes, but your lady friend did, you see. She ate quite a bit actually and she has just left so-"

Shikamaru's jaw dropped Oh hell no. That sneaky vixen, tricked him! He turned quickly back to the window but she was gone. Grudgingly he took the check from the waiter and examined it. He almost fainted as his eyes flickered over the amount, "SHE ATE 5 PIZZAS?"

**Madison Street, downtown Tokyo**

**11:49 AM**

Sakura giggled as she imagined Shikamaru's expression as the waiter handed him the bill. She hadn't eaten all the pizzas, but had bought them and then distributed it in the restaurant. She had finished eating the last slice right before Shikamaru had come in. She was probably going to get hell for tricking him but it was so worth it.

All of a sudden she heard a quiet chiming. She looked around for the source of the sound and then realized that it was her blackberry. She dug it out of her pocket and looked at the screen, the caller ID was Uchiha Sasuke.

Smirking she slid the phone up and answered it calmly, "Hello, Uchiha-san, can I help you?" she asked coolly.

His husky voice came over the phone, "Yeah you can. Tenten is busy with something in HR and I need you to bring me a lunch."

"Of course, anything for Hayazaki-san?" she asked casually.

There was a slight pause, "-No. Rin isn't at my office anymore. So just bring my lunch up and don't forget to get something for yourself, we're eating together." he replied easily.

Sakura felt heat rise to her cheeks, "Wait, what do you mean we're eating together?" Just earlier, he was treating her rudely and know he wanted to eat with her? What was going on with this guy?

"There's no hidden meaning, Sakura. It's just a business lunch so that I can get to know you. I don't want my assistant to be a total stranger." His voice sounded a tad annoyed.

She felt a rush of disappointment through her body. Oh. Of course, why was she thinking of other things? It was a perfectly normal business meeting, and why was she SO DISAPPOINTED? She rubbed her temples, this mission was making her act weird, and think things she had never even thought about. She couldn't wait till it was over.

"Hello? Sakura?" he asked irritably.

"Oh! Yeah, sure I'll be there." She replied reluctantly. "What should I get to eat?"

"Anything really, just don't get anything weird or something that I've never heard of." He answered vaguely, "I expect you to be at my office, 12:30. I look forward to seeing you there Sa-ku-ra." He chuckled and then the line went dead.

**A/N: So this is Chapter 5! I hope you guys enjoyed it and will continue to support me throughout this story :) Anyways, I would like you guys to keep on REVIEWING! REVIEWS are the bestest thing haha :D **

**THANKS A BUNCH TO…**

**Princess Pechay**

**deedee2034**

**mUmaRhz**

**NinjaKrabz**

**Craziibuniiz**

**Amethyst Darkness**

**HomeSkillitBiscuit.93**

**mayday5393**

**YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING, LOVE YOU!**

**So tell me if you guys like this story, if there's things I could improve on. Or if you want a character to appear in this story. Don't be shy, tell me what you think! I'll update sometime in the next week, so be sure to look out for Chapter 6!**

**SEMI-SPOILER ALERT!**

**There are a total of 4 moles which are scattered among the 3 groups.**

**Somebody will die and sadly it won't be Rin.**

**Somebody will be severely injured and sadly it won't be Rin either. **

**Rin will be unhappy though, don't cha worry! :)**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	6. Chapter 6

**IMPORTANT! READ BEFORE PROCEEDING ON WITH THE STORY! CRUCIAL TO THE PLOT! Haha okay so here's the deal. This story will be going on a permanent hiatus. Yes, I won't be continuing on this story due to…..JUST KIDDING! Had you fooled :) Okay, never mind HERE'S THE REAL NEWS To all you careful readers out there you noticed that I put Kiba Inzuka in the first chapter where he was part of Kurokage. And then, I put him in the**** previous**** chapter as ****Uchiha****'s top security guy. MY MISTAKE! I AM SO SORRY! This is very important that you get this, forget that Kiba was ever in the first chapter. I edited the first chapter so as to avoid further confusion. ****He solely works for the Uchiha Company!**** I forgot that I already used him so I put him in again, **_**HE IS NOT A MOLE!**_** Thank you very much for pointing that out as I tend to forgot who is a mole, who works for who, who is undercover and so on. Okay, now that that's ****all cleared up, enjoy Chapter 6! Cheers!**

**Chapter 6:**

**Uchiha Corporations, downtown Tokyo**

**12:39 PM**

Sasuke tapped his foot impatiently as he viewed the city beneath him. Where was that woman? He sighed in aggravation and then froze, what did he care? He had just met Sakura Haruno earlier today and yet he couldn't stop thinking about the new employee. He paced the room, sure she was pretty and she interested him. She was the first person who had rebuffed him and had stood up to his insults, that was new. He chuckled quietly, perhaps that was all, he was not attracted to her but she merely was entertaining. After all, he had a fiancée, she was insanely annoying but it was beneficial that he marry her.

He growled under his breath, if she wouldn't hurry up, he would go see what was taking her. He rapidly walked over to his door and as his hands reached to open the door, it swung open and Sakura Haruno stood there with a bemused expression, she held two take-out boxes in her right hand and her ID card in her left.

"Uchiha-san." She greeted stiffly, her eyes flickering from side to side not willing to meet his. "Your lunch." She handed him the take out boxes and then slightly turned towards the door as if wanting to leave.

He smiled charismatically, "Why the rush to leave Haruno-san?" He studied her closer; her picture didn't do her justice as she was even prettier up close. Her emerald eyes were framed with thick lashes and she had high cheekbones and a soft jaw line that gave her an innocent look.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably and gestured aimlessly, "I-I ate already before I came, I didn't expect to eat lunch with you." She murmured softly in a clear tone. She bit her lip; Sasuke Uchiha was just too cute for his own good.

They stood together for a moment in an awkward silence. He cleared his throat, "Well, I'll just sit then and eat if you're not hungry. I have some questions to ask of you anyways." She nodded hastily and sat where he pointed.

She crossed her legs modestly and he sat down as well, opening the take-out box. Almost immediately, the rich aroma of tomato, chicken and cheese filled the air. He looked up surprised at her, "Did you ask Tenten what I like?" There was no way she could have guessed exactly what restaurant he liked or what dish he preferred without asking Tenten.

Sakura glanced over with her eyebrows raised, "What do you mean?" she frowned and grabbed the other take-out box and a pair of chopsticks.

He grinned inwardly; guess she was hungrier than she thought. "I mean, did you ask Tenten where to go to get the lunch, Haruno-san?"

She split the chopsticks and opened the box while shaking her head, "Nope. I didn't want to bother her in HR so I just went to the Thai restaurant down the street and picked out my favorite dish. I hope you like tomatoes." She swallowed a piece of baby corn and looked at him confused.

He stopped and stared at her, he almost burst out laughing if he didn't have a reputation to keep. What a coincidence, he thought chuckling.

Sakura glared at him, "Why are you laughing at me?" she demanded. "Do I have something in my teeth? My hair messed up or something? You keep looking at me weird." She muttered, eating a forkful of pasta.

Sasuke instantly sobered up, "Nothing, Haruno-san, I was just thinking of a joke." He lied smoothly.

She smiled at his lame excuse, "You know, you don't have to be so formal." He looked up at her, "Just call me Sakura." He saw dimples forming at the edges of her mouth.

"Sakura, huh?" he allowed a little half smile, "Then, call me Sasuke as well, we're co-workers of a same business, equals right?"

He caught a frown forming on her face, "Co-workers eh?" she murmured. She looked up, "Well, I don't know if I can call myself an equal to the heir of the Uchiha company, I certainly like to think so." She let out a small laugh.

"Good! Let's get to some interviewing, shall we?" he winked.

Sakura nodded, "Of course, Sasuke-san." It felt weird, saying his name so casually as if they were already friends, perhaps they were, until she would have to stab him in the back. She grimaced, that wasn't something that she wanted to think about right now.

"Alright, do you enjoy traveling and what languages can you speak?" He was interested in learning this tidbit. As an Akatsuki agent he could speak, Japanese, English, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Korean, and conversational German. According to her resume she was also multilingual.

She smiled, "I do enjoy traveling, I've been to multiple countries and I speak Japanese of course, English, Spanish, French and conversational Vietnamese and- that's it." He noticed her hesitation but didn't comment. She glanced at him quickly and then glanced away; she had purposely left out quite a few as it would be odd to have learned that many languages if she was only a secretary.

He inclined his head, "Quatre langues? Je suis impressionné. Quels sont les autres compétences particulières avez-vous?" he asked in rapid French. She smirked, damn show off. He had said, '_Four languages? I'm impressed. What other special skills do you have?'_

Two can play a game, sweetie. She thought smiling, "Croyez-moi, je peux gérer tout ce que vous jetez sur moi monsieur." _Trust me; I can handle anything you throw at me, sir._

He raised his eyebrows at her attitude, "Je trouve cela difficile à croire." _I find that hard to believe._

Oh my god. She was flirting with a super-hot CEO in French! French, the romantic language! God, she was starting to like this mission. Sakura couldn't believe what she was about to say next, "Il est compréhensible, il est difficile de faire confiance à un joli visage." I_t's understandable it's hard to trust a pretty face, _she replied playfully.

His grin widened at her forwardness, other girls were always so timid around him or way too aggressive but she was mysterious and willing to play along with his game. The way she had answered his question earlier left him suspicious, he wondered, "Könnten Sie mir bitte eine serviette?" he smiled slyly. German for, _Can you please pass me a napkin?_

She passed him a napkin as he requested and then stopped short. He had tricked her. Her blood ran cold, damn it! She had been too caught up in the flirtation to pay attention! He had asked her a question in German because he had noticed her hesitation earlier and figured that she was holding back on something. It was a classic trick, to ask somebody something casual and then have them slip up. She mentally scolded herself, Stupid, stupid, stupid! She bit her lip and then smiled to gaze back up at his cocky smile, "Sehr witzig, gelang es Ihnen, mich zu betrügen." _Very clever, you managed to trick me._

He leaned back, gazing intently at her with his smoldering eyes, "Warum hast du lügen nicht wissend deutsch?" _Why did you lie about knowing German? _His broad shoulders and tall frame suddenly seemed more intimidating than before. She swallowed hard, god what was wrong with her?

She leaned back as well and said quite calmly, "My German is hardly anything to brag about Uchiha-sama. I did not want to seem that I was very fluent in it. I know barely conversational German. To be quite honest, I know a few other languages decently, I just didn't want to seem very egotistical." She smiled modestly and leaned in closer so that their faces were inches apart, "Why are you so anxious monsieur?" she asked with a smirk.

Her emerald eyes held him suspended for a moment and he snapped back to reality, why was he getting so suspicious of a woman he had just met? He stared back intently at her eyes, her wonderful strange mysterious eyes that seemed to pull him in to her own secret world. With a sharp exhale he leaned back, not wanting to look at her in the eyes, "Nothing, mademoiselle." he replied in a murmur. "You must tell me; though what other languages do you know other than what you have told me?"

Sakura hesitated momentarily, "Italian. Parlo correntemente l'italiano, sì"

He nodded, "That is all?" he asked with a trace of suspicion in his voice.

She smiled deviously, "The others are not worth mentioning, are you well versed in Italian?" she asked casually trying to change the subject; she was talking way too much about herself.

He shook his head truthfully. As an agent he had been given the choice to study Italian or Spanish and he had chosen Spanish as it being more common and useful on various missions. He paused and an awkward silence fell upon the two as they sat eating. All that was heard was the soft sound of chewing and the clacking of their chopsticks.

A buzzing sound came from his pocket and he glanced down to retrieve the phone from his jacket, "Allow me to take this call." She waved affirmatively.

He slid the phone up and spoke rapidly in annoyance, "What is it Naruto?" He was on a semi-date for the love of God; the last thing he needed was Naruto Uzumaki ruining it.

Her interest was piqued as she heard Naruto's name, she continued to eat but furtively glanced up at Sasuke. "Yes, Naruto I'm at my office, get to the point, I'm in the middle of something important." he let out an exasperated sigh.

Sakura bit her lip to keep from smiling; he was in the middle of something important, huh? Satisfaction bubbled up from within her.

"What? Why didn't you tell me in advance? My office is not someplace you can just walk into!" he growled, arguing with the person on the other line.

"Well, god." He rubbed his temples, "Fine. Come in, if this happens again though, I swear I won't be as forgiving. This had better be good, yeah. Bye dobe, tell Tenten that I specifically allow you in." He snapped the phone shut and collapsed back onto the chair across from her.

"A friend of your stirring up trouble for you?" she asked in amusement. Naruto huh? Judging by the conversation, it would seem that he was paying a visit to his friend, perfect timing.

Sasuke groaned, "Yeah, an obnoxious, loudmouth friend. He's at the building entrance and decided to give me a surprise visit. He says it's very urgent but knowing him, it probably won't be." He snorted.

"All the same, he's your best friend." She stated simply, glancing at him with knowing eyes. Her own friendship with her self-proclaimed best friend had lasted from diapers to diplomas. Back then, she had wondered often how they had ever even liked each other as they had conflicting personalities and views. A pang went through her body, and then she had to become an agent, which meant that her best friend would have been in trouble if she had remained friends. She had left her hometown without telling friends or family. It was strange however that she wasn't guilty about leaving her parents; she knew that it was the right thing. But, leaving her best friend, Ino Yamanaka, was possibly the hardest thing she had done. In the off chance that she ran into Ino in the future, Ino would be spouting accusations, demands and curses. Sakura would then be killed 50 different ways, quite possibly.

"Ah-Sakura." His low voice broke into her grim thoughts. She glanced up to see him staring at her expectantly. "Listen, do you mind staying? I'd like you to meet Naruto, if that's all right with you." He had a little smile on his face and then she felt herself blush. God, was it possible to be so attracted to somebody that you just met? Sakura asked herself incredulously. She was supposed to pretend that she liked him, not actually fall head-over-heels! She uncrossed her legs and then felt the icy touch of the knife rub against her skin, almost as a reminder. She was supposed to be the seductress not the seduced. _Sakura Haruno, what are you getting yourself into?_

She smiled and went back to speaking in French, "J'aimerais répondre à votre ami. Il sonne comme une personne intéressante." _I would love to meet your friend. He sounds like an interesting person. _

Sasuke rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Je pense qu'après cette réunion, vous allez regretter séjour." He paused, "Je suis heureux que nous sommes arrivés à parler, vous avez tout à fait vous-même intéressante." _I think after the meeting, you'll regret staying. I'm glad we got to talk, you're quite interesting yourself. _

She let out a little chuckle, "Why thank you Uchiha-sama." She replied dryly.

He opened his mouth to say something but at that moment, there came a barrage of knocking at the door. And endless flow of knocking on the other side of the door and he knew exactly was stupid enough to do that. Sakura coughed into her arm to conceal her laughter. The knocking had quieted but still persisted as if mocking him. "Ay! Teme, I'm here!" a loud raucous voice announced.

**A/N: So this is Chapter 6, I hope you guys enjoyed it :) This chapter is shorter than normal I hope you guys aren't too mad about it haha! Tell me what you think because I ABSOLUTELY LOVE hearing from you guys, they always make my day. MAKE MY DAY! I was listening to this song Tighten Up by The Black Keys; it's stuck in my head now. I love music, who doesn't? Oh! I was also watching Nikita and Alias this weekend, to get some ideas on disguises, spy devices, things like that, tell me if you love those shows too! I just love watching thriller, suspense things but I hate gory things. Absolutely cannot stand it. So one thing this story won't be is gory, I can guarantee you that. Except for the chapter on Rin, just kidding ;)**

**UNTIL THEN,**

**WRITER4EVERR**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Face to Face**

**Tokyo Police Department, downtown Tokyo**

**12:44 PM**

Ino glanced out the window, relishing the momentary silence in her office, the usual cause of the noise, Naruto, had left claiming he was going to go to Ichiraku for lunch. She knew, however, that he was seeing his friend Sasuke Uchiha, the handsome CEO of Uchiha Corporations. Ino had seen her superior mulling his thoughts in his head, debating whether or not to tell his friend of the mole. He would not tell, she was sure of it, but he would investigate the matter, he would try to uncover the identity of the mole by himself. Naruto was an odd person. He was stupid, naïve and had a childlike nature but all his intentions were good. He was trustworthy and always determined to make somebody feel better. She snorted, his determination was admirable, but it would be his downfall one day. She turned on her heels to sit down and turn on her laptop.

She could not help being curious about the mole herself. A mole who had resided in the Uchiha Corporations for so long without being caught was truly a devious and clever person. Sai had said that Tsunade had authorized the mole, so only Tsunade knew the identity, eh? She let out a low chuckle and continued to log into her computer. As her programs started up she clicked the video conference shortcut and went down the list of available people, searching for Tsunade's name. Triumphantly, she found it in no time and clicked rapidly on it. The screen stalled for a few seconds and then Tsunade's image appeared on the laptop. Her superior must have been quite old as she had been around for some time. Yet, she managed to retain the appearance of being hardly older than her mid-30s. Her light brown eyes were narrowed into a frown and her coral lips curved down in a permanent expression of dissatisfaction.

"Tsunade-sama, how have you been?" Ino inquired politely.

"Fine, quite fine, I should think you are quite well, looking at your healthy appearance." She responded with a thin smile, her fingers encircling round a sake bottle.

"Ah, thank you. I must be frank and cut to the chase, you don't mind do you?" Ino smiled, her eyes gazing intently back at Tsunade.

"Actually, I prefer you get to the point. It gets quite tiring when you talk my ear off; I also have an important engagement I have to be getting to, so please, hurry it up." Tsunade prompted Ino with an inclination of her blonde head.

"As you wish," Ino leaned back, "Who is the mole at Uchiha Corporations that works for us?" she asked simply, her blue eyes sharpened, trying to read Tsunade's body language.

Tsunade was silent for quite a while and then her mouth opened to let out a peal of laughter. "Sai told you about the mole, did he? Ha! Well that's not a problem at all I suppose I was going to inform you anyways." She glanced off into the distance, murmuring silently to herself still.

"That didn't answer my question." Ino urged on irritably.

"In good time I will reveal what has to be revealed. As it happens, I cannot do so presently. The mole is in a trustworthy position; it would be a shame for him to be killed off so suddenly, don't you think?" Tsunade questioned with a mocking smile.

Ino snorted in disbelief, "How am I supposed to operate and collect info if I don't even know who the mole is? It's pointless for me to carry out the investigation on Akatsuki if these are the circumstances." She argued, clenching her fists together tightly.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Yamanaka, think. I will relay you the information. Don't worry your pretty little head over this issue. I am sure you have better things to work on if you hit a hitch in your case. Speaking of which, how is your case on Kurokage coming along?"

Ino shrugged carelessly, "We have discovered the identity of a second Kurokage agent. Ibiki Morino, he's their head interrogator there, according to my info collected, he used to work for the FBI." she looked back at her boss

Tsunade suddenly glanced up, "FBI you say? That's quite intriguing. Send me the data files on Morino."

Ino tilted her head to the side in curiosity, "Why the sudden interest in the FBI? Are they not trustworthy anymore?" she asked, her blue eyes gleaming.

Tsunade shook her head, "Don't be silly, we still have our alliance with them, remember? I'm just wondering what an ex-FBI agent is doing with the likes of Anko."

She nodded, recalling the alliance between the FBI and the Tokyo Police Department. For a while there had been animosity between them as a result of a scandal but they had come to an uneasy truce establishing an organization called Chiame (CHEE-AH-MAY). Chiame agents were FBI agents who were sent to Tokyo to help out the police department and in return, Japan would provide them with classified documents concerning strategic tactics of the like. Last time she heard, a man named Gaara Sabaku was in charge of Niimei agents back in America. She hesitated, "Well, I must be going then, Naruto is gone on a lunch break to visit Uchiha-san so I have a lot to catch up on." She stood up abruptly.

Tsunade nodded, "Good. Be sure that you finish what you need to, I hate slackers." Her lip curled downwards. "And Ino?" she leaned forward to stare at Ino with a suspicious air.

Ino inhaled sharply, "Yes Tsunade-sama?" she tried to glance away from her hypnotic gaze.

"I don't want you to try to discover who that mole is. If you do your life and everybody else's life in the department is at risk, got it? That mole is sacrificing everything just so we can have little snippets of information and I don't want him dead. Is that clear?" she asked icily.

Ino slowly nodded, "I understand Tsunade-sama, very well." She blinked mechanically.

Tsunade nodded with a satisfied air, "Excellent. I have to attend an important meeting, meaning I'll have to leave. Have a good day Yamanaka." With a click, the screen went dark leaving the room in a deathly silence.

Ino slammed the laptop closed in a fit of frustration. She hadn't done this for herself; to be honest she had done it for Naruto. She knew the danger of being nosy, so she had taken the chance of asking Tsunade herself in the hopes of getting the answer. No such luck there. She bit down own her lip, as she usually did when she was deep in thought. Now how was she supposed to get Naruto to quit snooping around in Uchiha Corporations? No doubt he would be mixed up in something she would have to rescue him out of. Damn it. She let out an unsatisfied growl, snatched up her car keys and strode out of her office, her heels quietly clacking behind her.

**Uchiha** **Corporations, downtown Tokyo**

**12:59 PM**

Naruto was settled comfortably on the sofa, with a glass of wine in hand. He wore a sharp suit which contrasted with his goofy orange tie. His blond hair was tousled and his blue eyes weary but keen nonetheless. He took a languorous sip, "Mm. I should visit you more often teme! Free wine and food every time I come here, Ah!" he grinned good-naturedly at his more than irritated best friend.

Sasuke growled, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Yeah, sure. Just go ahead and make yourself at home." He looked apologetically at Sakura and felt disappointment surge throughout his body. Damn Naruto for just bursting in.

Sakura smiled, she felt a little more relieved than disappointed. Another minute alone with Uchiha and she would have gone insane with the pressure and longing. It was an added bonus that it was Naruto who had barged in, he was somebody close to Uchiha, meaning he had information that could be useful. She cleared her throat, "So you're Uzumaki-san! Tenten mentioned that you and Sasuke-san are best friends."

Naruto glanced up at her and smiled appreciatively at her figure. Sasuke noticed and let out another irritated growl, "Hands off. Your girlfriend's name is Hinata, remember her?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Whatever, it was her job to seduce so she was wearing clothes that were purposely tight, it wasn't Naruto's fault. She laughed sheepishly, "Let it go, Uchiha-san, he wasn't even looking."

Naruto nodded vigorously, "Yeah! Don't be so uptight! Nothing wrong with looking at somebody who you're talking too." He protested, his blue eyes lit up mischievously, "And you have a fiancée, remember?" he asked mockingly.

Sasuke looked as if he was about to bite off Naruto's head. Sakura intervened quickly, "Ah! Uzumaki-san, this isn't what you think! Just a business meeting is what this is." She flashed him a bright smile.

"Mm. Sure." Naruto glanced around suspiciously. He shook his head and muttered quietly to himself.

"If you have a problem, spit it out dobe." Sasuke demanded in a scathing tone. He wasn't in the mood to play games with his idiot of a friend. Not only was he interrupted in a lunch date he had an Akatsuki meeting he had to attend to later in the afternoon. He couldn't do that with a cop around.

The blonde haired man shook his head, "Nothing, nothing. I just came by to visit, obviously I'm not wanted here." He sniffed.

"No, you're not." Sasuke agreed in a biting tone.

Sakura had to grin. She could tell that their polar opposite personalities often clashed but that they were best friends who always stuck together. She wondered if Naruto knew about Sasuke's involvement in Akatsuki. An ache in her chest rose as she remembered her own best friend, who she had abandoned to protect.

Naruto stood up and gathered his coat, "I guess I'll be going then. I just wanted to see how you were doing—"he was interrupted as the door opened and a loud shriek of delight sounded.

"NARUTOOOOO!" Tenten tackled her friend in a huge bear hug. "Where have you been? Why haven't you been visiting?" she demanded breathlessly.

Naruto grin widened, "Well, at least somebody's happy to see me!" He hugged Tenten tightly. "I miss you! Come back and work for us, quit working for Teme!" he offered jokingly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his stupid remark and then glanced at Tenten. It was her, no doubt about it, Sayuki hadn't attempted to impersonate her again.

Tenten laughed, "You don't need me! Hinata's doing a fine job in my stead. How are Ino and Sai? Are they doing fine?" she asked curiously. "God, it's been a while since I last visited."

Naruto nodded, "They're doing fine, just fine. Where's Neji?"

Tenten's face fell, "Oh. He's out right now. Are him and Hinata still distant?" she asked in a low tone.

Sasuke spoke up, "Apparently. Hinata is still avoiding him. She barely comes to family reunions and always tries to avoid speaking to Neji." He took a sip of his own wineglass. Sakura's eyebrow quirked upwards, Hyuuga family drama?

Tenten tsked, sighing, "It's a shame. Before, whenever I asked her about it she would always get flustered. It's been a few years since they stopped talking. Makes me really want to find out what happened." She stated wistfully.

"It's not our place, anyways." Naruto said abruptly. "What the Hyuugas do is none of our concern." He murmured. Clearing his throat he said, "Anyways I'll be going now." His eyes shifted around uneasily.

"Already?" Tenten asked in disbelief. "You just got here! Stay for a little bit longer!" she protested.

Naruto shook his head, "My lunch break is almost over, my lieutenant is going to kill me if I'm late. We can have dinner tonight though, catch up on some things." He suggested in an easy manner.

Tenten's eyes lit up, "Sounds good! Where do you want to—"she was interrupted by three rapid knock at the door. She started to turn to go open the door, but Sakura stopped her.

"Let me. I'll let you and Naruto continue your reunion." She smiled and made her way to the door. "Coming!"

She opened the door and glanced up. Sakura felt the color drain from her face and felt all the air in her lungs disappearing. She dropped the clipboard she was holding in surprise and horror as she came face to face with her past. The one face she had been praying all her life never to see again. The face that she had been trying to run away from. The best friend she had abandoned to keep safe by some sick twist of fate had appeared suddenly out of thin air. Dread coiled tight in her stomach as she recognized the long silky strands of blonde hair, and the wide accusing blue eyes that seemed to pierce straight through her skull.

She struggled to form the name in her mouth, her words coming out in a croak. "I-Ino."

**A/N: TRALALALALA. Okay, so that was CHAPTER SEVEN. I feel like this is the weakest chapter so far. UGH. Anyways, if you have any questions feel free to write them in your reviews or private message me. UHM, you guys are welcome to guess who the moles are. There's four of them. Anyways if you guys didn't understand the ending. Ino is Sakura's ex best friend. Sakura left without telling her why but we all know that its because she became an assassin. SOOO…PLEASE REVIEW!**

**So if any of you guys were interested I have some translations. Chiame is the name of the alliance program and it basically means blood rain. Chi meaning blood and ame meaning rain. Kurokage means black shadow, Akatsuki means red dawn.**

**OH HOLY COW. I AM RIDICULOUSLY STUPID. I AM SOOOO SORRY! T.T I forgot to thank you guys in the last chapter, so I will do a double thank-you note right now! **

**Part One:**

**dark-angel-of-the-past**

**maidsama4real**

**loverofcookies**

**mUmaRhz**

**Dorky Dippinfanny**

**Amethyst Darkness**

**TorieStar**

**BlackRose723**

**everydayhaterXD14**

**Part Two:**

**Mistressinwaiting**

**SectumSemprae**

**CrimsonNite**

**Tenshi no Sakura**

**BlackRose723**

**Amethyst Darkness**

**korcutt13**

**shocky808**

**polishniunia93**

**ding-a-ling-lee**

**AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I appreciate all your subscriptions, adding me to your favorite stories and taking the time to read and review! I feel really thankful for you guys because I check my e-mail and I see a notification, it literally pulls me out of my crappy moods. So, thank you very much, I expect Chapter 8 to come out no later than 2012. Expect Ino to go berserk in the next chapter. Peace.**

**UNTIL THEN,**

**WRITER4EVERR**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Small World**

**Uchiha Corporations, downtown Tokyo**

**1:15 PM**

Sasuke glanced back at the door, partially curious as to who had arrived at his office. His eyes widened in surprise as he recognized Ino at the door. Ino was his good friend whom he went to clubs with to keep rabid fan girls away. In many ways, she resembled a Barbie doll with her typical lustrous blonde hair and wide cerulean eyes that attracted so much attention. She could be airheaded at times but she was compassionate and was dedicated to helping people become more social. In addition, she was tough and didn't take crap from anybody which helped as she was Naruto's second-in-command. He was about to come and greet her at the door when he noticed something unusual. She had a particularly cold look on her face as she stared at Sakura in an expression of anger, betrayal, shock mixed in with a little bit of relief. He kept his distance, his interest piqued in the relationship between the two women.

Silence hovered between Sakura and Ino as they simply stared at each other. Sakura felt her throat constrict as she tried to say something, anything, but nothing would come up. She was at a loss for words. How would she greet the friend who she had betrayed? Ino stared down at her and Sakura felt her cheeks warm, shame filling up within her.

Ino spoke first, slowly meeting Sakura's gaze full on, "Hello, forehead." She acknowledged icily in a mocking tone.

Sakura resisted the urge to self-consciously move her bangs to cover her large forehead, the one insecurity that had remained with her since childhood. She found it sadly ironic that Ino had been the one that helped her accept her flaws and now Ino was the one who was dealing out the insults now. She smiled wryly, she deserved it anyways.

Clearing her throat she managed a weak, "Long time no see, Ino."

Almost immediately, Ino's blue eyes flashed in anger, "Long time no see? Sakura! You disappear after 10 years and 'long time no see' is all you can say?" she screeched, her face reddening in frustration and anger. Ino moved closer to point an accusing finger in Sakura's face.

Sakura backed away, "Ino, please calm down." She pleaded in a fierce whisper, "I can explain, really I can." She bit her lip, trying to come up with a decent lie that Ino would believe.

Ino snorted in derision, "Fine, please explain! I want to know how you had the nerve to just pack up and leave me right before college, because I'm interested in what lies you have for me now! 10 years! 10 years without a damn word from my supposed 'best friend'." She crossed her arms angrily, her blue eyes narrowed.

Naruto's surprised voice came from the room, "Oy! Ino, why are you here?" he looked on at Ino's angry stance, "Why are you yelling at Sakura-chan? You just met her, right?" he glanced from Sakura to Ino, in pure confusion.

At his side, Tenten was just about as confused as Naruto. Being more perceptive she had gathered however that Ino and Sakura had been close friends in the past. She also knew that Ino was livid. Tenten had never seen Ino so worked up except for the time one of Sasuke's fan girl threatened to kill her. That incident had gotten Ino kicked out of the club and banned.

Sakura leaned away from Ino's piercing stare, "I'm trying to tell you! Ino, please calm down!" she pleaded with her friend as she remembered her lie.

Ino hesitated and dropped her hands to the side, "Thirty seconds. That's all you have." She conceded.

Sakura smiled, "That's all I need." She drew in a deep breath, "After my dad died, you know in that car crash. I had to be moved to a foster home back in America. My foster family was horrible there. I couldn't do anything, they restricted everything, I wasn't allowed to contact anybody back in Japan. The social workers whisked my out of Japan right out of the funeral. I didn't even pack; they had done it the night before and hadn't even told me! That's why I disappeared after the funeral, they just took me!" her voice cracked at the end. She had tried to stay as close to the truth as possible so that Ino would believe her.

Ino's lips were pursed and suddenly threw her arms around Sakura, "I didn't really care what you were going to say." She mumbled. "I'm just really glad to see you again. It's so weird that you're back now. I missed you Forehead." Sakura's mouth just about dropped open, but then she felt her mouth grin hugely.

"I missed you to Ino-pig." She hugged her best friend warmly.

Ino murmured, "Yeah-" and then Sakura felt a huge pain on her shoulder as Ino punched her. "Really, Sakura? Did you think I would say that? You haven't gotten any smarter I see." She glared at Sakura but still had a half-smile on her face. "I mean come on! What happened to the Sakura who was so rebellious? Couldn't you have stolen your foster mom's cell phone and called me?" she asked in joking disbelief. She punched Sakura on the other shoulder, "That's for calling me Ino-pig." She smiled triumphantly.

"Hey!" Sakura protested, "You started it! Remember? Forehead girl?"

Ino laughed, "I guess you're right!" she paused and stared at Sakura, "God it feels just like when we were seniors. You've bloomed into a true Sakura." She winked.

Sakura threw her arms around Ino, inhaling her familiar scent of high-end makeup products and high-class perfumes. God she missed her normal life of high school when everything was just so simple.

Naruto started clapping, "Yeah! Happy reunion! Clap Teme, you too Tenten-chan!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend's horrible sense of timing. He glanced at Sakura once again to scrutinize her. Why did she seem so familiar? It was nagging his brain and then an idea occurred to him. Ino probably knew a lot about Sakura, maybe she could tell him something that would clue him in to this enigma surrounding his new assistant.

**Akatsuki Headquarters**

**8:01 PM**

Sayuki had on one of her many disguises from a previous mission that afternoon in which she had to pose as Duchess Amelia who had flown in from France. She had worn a flowery sundress with a wide-brim lady like hat; she had paired hot pink strappy sandals. It had been quite some work to impersonate Duchess Amelia as they were completely different races. With the help of powder, a blonde curly wig, and sunglasses she had managed to pull it off perfectly. They didn't call her a master of disguises for nothing.

Her sandals clicked against the floor of the mansion and she traveled up the spiraling staircase and gracefully walked into the library which was a large circular room which hardly anybody from Akatsuki went into except for her and him. At the back of the library was a unique bookcase which instead of holding books, held films which dated back to the hundreds of years ago. Exerting a bit of strength she shoved against the bottom right shelf. She heard a whirr and then a click and then cleared away the books from the shelf to reveal a screen which was camouflaged against the wood. Words appeared dimly light against the screen: _sanguine crassior quam aqua_. She memorized it rapidly and then returned the books to their shelf. Shoving against the shelf once more, she waited to hear the click once more and then promptly left the room.

She traveled down the dark hallway once more and then came upon the correct door and knocked rapidly, "Itachi, it's me, Sayuki." She spoke clearly, in a low tone.

Itachi's whisper soft voice came from the other side, "Come in, the door's open." She righted her brimmed hat and then stepped inside, the musky scent of alcohol and cologne flooding her noise. His room was well lit with the windows partially covered by rich satin curtains. Books and papers were scattered everywhere and his desk was equally messy with his dinner still sitting on a tray. Itachi sat at his desk reading over some sort of business proposal.

She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek, "Itachi-kun, you won't believe what happened-" she was cut off as she felt a sharp nudge on her ribcage. She looked down, amusedly to see Itachi pointing a gun into her stomach.

He stared up at her, "The password, Sayuki." He murmured simply.

She rolled her eyes, "Really? Itachi, you should listen to a lady when she speaks. Let me tell you how my day went before you start pointing a gun at me."

Itachi lowered the gun and then brought it up again so that the barrel was at her eye-level, "the password." He reminded her.

She growled, "All right, fine. Why was today's password so long? Sheesh, the password was _sanguine crassior quam aqua__, _happy?"

Satisfied, Itachi put down the gun and reached up to warmly caress her hair, "That wasn't so hard now was it?" he chuckled, kissing the bridge of her nose.

Sayuki smiled, "A little bit paranoid today aren't we? Something happen between you and Madara?" Itachi was deeply trusted by Madara but the one issue that Itachi didn't agree with Madara was the topic of his little brother, Sasuke.

Itachi shook his head, "It's nothing—so far."

Sayuki rolled her eyes, "You're easier to read than a book. You're still afraid for Sasuke, are you not?"

Itachi smiled wryly, "Of course, I am. Sasuke doesn't want me or my parents around. Of course, Madara likes it that way so that he can sink his claws into him easier." He snorted.

Sayuki raised her eyebrows, "Mm, very vivid description right there." She let out a throaty laugh. "Don't worry, I'm watching over him. I'll take care of Sasuke-kun when you can't. Just today, I saw him." She informed Itachi.

He looked up surprised, "Yeah?"

She nodded. "He wasn't as glad to see me as I thought he would be." She pouted. "But, you know Uchiha's they don't like expressing happy emotions. They have no problem expressing negativity, that's for sure."

Itachi raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

She nodded once more, "It's a proven fact." She grinned. "Anyways, I gave him the phone in it. It has the tracking device in it as you instructed. I also learned he has a new assistant, a Sakura Haruno."

Itachi blinked, "Sakura Haruno?" he paused in a thoughtful manner.

Curiously Sayuki questioned, "Do you want me to do a background check on her?"

He shook his head, "No…just keep an eye out on her. There's really nobody you can trust nowadays, you know?" he shrugged.

"Yeah, you certainly know that's true when your boyfriend points a gun at you when you try to tell him about your day." She remarked sarcastically.

"Safety first." He grinned in a child-like manner.

She leaned in to kiss his jaw, "You're so unromantic, I hope you realize that." She muttered.

He chuckled, "I do. You remind me every day. 'Itachi, you're so boring' 'Itachi can you be a little bit more sensitive?' you nag me a lot." He murmured flipping through the pages of the business proposal.

She stood up from his side, "It's out of love Itachi-kun." Checking the time on her watch she let out a little moan, "Crap. Is that the time already?"

Itachi looked up, "Do you have to go now?" he asked disappointedly.

"Yeah, I have to report back to Madara, he's at Uchiha Corporations right now. Damn it all." She muttered angrily under breath. She gave him a quick, affectionate huge and then turned to leave but stopped at the door, remembering something. "Oh did you hear the news? The FBI is doing their routine investigations in Japan earlier this year. They're coming in a couple of weeks I believe. The thing is, they were tipped off by moles in Uchiha Corporation that we had moles in the FBI as well. They're doing a more thorough search this year. Not only Gaara, but Temari and Kankuro are coming. Madara's going to be more paranoid than ever."

Itachi leaned back in satisfaction, "Good. Maybe he'll be less likely to mess with Sasuke now."

Sayuki shook her head, "I don't think so. He just assigned Sasuke an assassination today. He has to kill a Kurokage agent."

**A/N: Ooh kay so that was Chapter EIGHT! I'm really sorry that my chapters just get shorter and shorter but I have a lot less time than I usually do. I'll try my best! Haha so anyways PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK AND REVIEW! Thank you very much to the following people:**

**TorieStar**

**Ding-a-ling-lee**

**-13issues-**

**Blackrose723**

**RoSeXilil**

**Mistressinwaiting**

**ImmaBeForever**

**Izzy1001**

**teePWNS**

**There will be a lot of action in the next chapters so please look forward to those. I also won't be updating until I get 8 more reviews, thank you very much to the people who have been consistently been supporting me :) PEACE!**

**UNTIL THEN,**

**WRITER4EVERR**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Puddles of Guilt**

**Uchiha Corporations, Floor 5**

**9:34 PM**

The elevator smelled like fancy Italian cheese mixed in with several different perfumes and colognes. It was an unusual scent but nonetheless comforting to Sasuke Uchiha. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled just as deeply, trying to steady his nerves. He hated feeling this way. He hated feeling afraid, intimidated. It just wasn't like him. He hated Madara's piercing eyes; he hated everything about the way he talked, the way he moved. Utter loathing filled the young man's heart as he clenched his fists together. Staring at the elevator buttons he urged himself to push a button, any button. But he couldn't. It was too difficult; he was numb, paralyzed by fear.

Slowly he raised his hands to look at them. There was blood on them; he realized that he had unconsciously been clawing at his own skin. The red liquid seeped out onto his palm and he stared at it, mesmerized for a second. The vivid red in his blood fascinated him for a second until he felt a pang go through his head.

Images flashed into his head briefly. _Puddles of blood. A gun in a gloved hand. A shriek of pain._ Screaming and shouting filled his hand for a few seconds in a cacophony of chaos. He slipped down onto the floor, his eyes blank. And then he heard it. Above all the noise he heard the crying of an infant off in the distance, a mournful wail of loneliness. That baby he had-

Suddenly, he became aware of his position. He was vulnerable once more even though he had sworn… He let out a guttural shout and slammed his fist down on the ground, "No!" he growled furiously. He staggered to his feet and struggled to find the right button. He slammed his fist against the button and then slid down onto the floor, feeling even more drained then before. _God what was happening to him?_ The elevator let out a low ding and he drunkenly walked out, his hands out in front of him to guide him. Walking slowly, he saw his vision blur and he felt his breathing get shallower and shallower. He didn't care where he was going. He just needed to get out of this place.

"Sasuke!" he heard a familiar voice scream in worry.

He turned his head to the side, but couldn't see who it was. It was too blurry. Who was calling to him?

"Sasuke! Oh my god, you're bleeding on your hands! What did you do?" he felt himself being propped up, his arm being put over a warm shoulder.

In his daze he recognized his aid, "Tenten?" he questioned blearily, "What are you doing here? I told-I told you to go home." He muttered stubbornly, still confused.

Tenten snorted, "A lot of good that would have done you. You don't know how freaked out I was, when I saw you stumbling out of the elevator with your hands out in front of you like a zombie. God, what happened to you?" she questioned once more. She started pulling him along in the direction of her car.

He attempted to pull himself upright without her help, "I'm fine." He replied irritably. "I can get home by myself."

Tenten pulled him along more forcibly, "Shut up. Do you want to kill yourself?"

"I feel dead already." He muttered carelessly.

Tenten opened the door to her silver convertible and helped him inside. She got in the opposite side and held her boss upright by the shoulders. "Tell me. What happened?" she demanded, her brown eyes held him.

He tried to look away, "Piss off. Nothing happened." He growled. Turning he tried to open the door only to find it locked.

Tenten smiled smugly and held up the keys, "Tell me." She repeated simply.

Sasuke looked back at her weakly with narrowed, dangerous eyes. "If I tell you, you'll regret ever asking. I guarantee it." He said in a whisper.

Tenten hesitated, and then leaned back, inhaling sharply. "Is it about Akatsuki?" she breathed out, realization burning bright in her eyes.

He smirked, "Smart girl. Can you handle it? Or are you going to go screaming to the police?" he taunted in his drunken state.

She recoiled, her face red in anger, "You think I would betray you, Sasuke? I love you like a brother. I would never do anything like that. You know that." She spat out angrily.

Tension filled the air and a knot bloomed in Tenten's stomach, she already knew the answer. She was dreading it, hoping that it wouldn't be what she thought it was.

Sasuke leaned in dangerously close to her face, "I have to kill someone." He said simply, staring at her with his intense onyx eyes.

Tenten closed her eyes and let out a choking noise, "Who?" she asked feebly. Sasuke looked down to see her fists clenched together tightly in her lap.

Sasuke let out a bitter laugh and leaned back to sit normally in his seat. "Some rich, fancy oil tycoon. No loss there." He tried to keep the pretense that he wasn't scared, that he could kill somebody without thinking. He had done it many times before. He was even a reputed assassin at some time, before that fateful incident.

Tenten heard the remorse in his tone under his bravado. "You don't want to kill him, do you?" she whispered, her voice soft.

He turned back angrily to his assistant, "Damn it! Of course I don't." He hissed out, his jaw clenched angrily. "Do you think just because I'm with Akatsuki that I _enjoy_ killing?" his eyes burned intensely in the dimly lit car.

Tenten felt her eyes brim with tears although she was hardly one to cry. Throwing her arms around her friend she started crying silently, her body shuddering. "Why? Why, why why?" she murmured in between hiccupping sobs. She could see so clearly, the pain that her friend was in. The things he had to endure, the company's demands, Akatsuki's demands, his secrets. It was something that no young man should ever have to deal with so suddenly.

Sasuke sat still as he felt Tenten cry on his shoulder. It didn't bother him a bit, but he felt like stone. He couldn't move, he didn't want too; he just wanted to stay like this, away from Madara, just for a little bit longer.

Tenten, still clinging to his neck, asked in a shuddering voice, "When is it?"

"Two days from now. At the Red Dragon Plaza Hotel. I have to kill him, with a gun, just shoot him. One bullet to the head." He spoke slowly, recalling Madara's briefing.

"_Sasuke, it's very simple." He smiled charismatically, "The target is a young man, Akihiko Noriko. He's a very wealthy business man. He represents one of the largest oil companies in the world. There's a business convention at the Red Dragon Plaza Hotel where he will be attending. A lot of business moguls will also be in attendance. No doubt, he might know of our planned assassination attempt, there are leaks even in Akatsuki. That's why I need you, Sasuke-kun." He smiled slyly at his protégé. You are capable of sneaking by as people tend to like you, very well suited for the job." He handed Sasuke a gun, "Kill him."_

Tenten got up from her position and smoothed out her now, unruly hair. "I-is there any way to—delay it?" she asked tentatively.

Sasuke shook his head and snorted, "Fat chance. Madara's also probably testing my allegiance. He doesn't like the fact that I hang around Naruto."

She narrowed her eyes, "Don't ever let him control you. You're stronger than—"she was interrupted by a ringing cellphone. "It's yours." She said simply.

He gave a quick nod and pulled his blackberry out of his suit pocket and checked the ID, SAKURA HARUNO. He smirked, what was she doing calling at a time like this? It must be important if she was calling after 9.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle. Que puis-je vous aider?" he tried to calm his shaking voice, but he still heard a trace of tremors. _Hello Miss, how can I help you?_

Tenten raised an eyebrow as she heard him speak French. Who was he talking to on the other end? Obviously some girl, she knew that much French. European languages weren't her strength. She knew quite a bit of Asian languages however.

Sakura's clear voice came over the other end, "Speaking in French again are we? You're quite the romantic." She paused, "Anyways, I needed to ask you if I could take the day after tomorrow off."

Sasuke frowned, "The day after tomorrow? You just started Haruno. I don't think you're in the position where you can just call it quits right now." The day after tomorrow, he mused, the day he had to kill Akihiko Noriko.

He heard her hesitation, "I have an engagement that I couldn't get out of." I do hope you understand." She replied sincerely.

He chuckled, "Of course, I do. You have a date with your boyfriend?" he teased, secretly hoping she would reply that she didn't have one.

She stammered, "A-ah no! Nothing like that Uchiha-sama! It's a very professional matter in fact."

He smiled at her innocence, "Well, that'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes, yes of course." She agreed and then let out a little laugh before hanging up.

He snapped the phone shut and by chance glanced at his hand to see the claw marks. He remembered with a start that he had to kill somebody. Growling angrily he slammed the phone down.

Tenten raised an eyebrow, "Who was that , that got you all upset?" she asked in an amused tone.

"Sakura, well rather, she didn't get me mad. The fact that I have to hide something from her like that, doesn't appeal to me." He snapped. In fact, that was why he treasured Tenten's friendship so much. He could tell her anything and that included things about Akatsuki. Because he was an assassin, he couldn't go out and freely make friends. If he did, they would all be in danger.

Tenten bit her lip, "Well maybe you can tell her. "She started. "You know, after you get to know her better, you did the same with me." She suggested naively.

He shook his head, "Don't you understand, Tenten? I'm going to scar her. She's probably never met anybody so brutal or violent in her life. She's probably never even killed an insect. I'm ruining her, if I try to get close to her." He moaned torturously,

Tenten tried to comfort him weakly, "Everybody has secrets they hide."

**Earlier that evening…**

**Kurokage Headquarters**

Sakura pulled out the gun, and shot him in the head. She saw the blood splatter slowly on the ground. She shuddered in disgust for a few seconds and then turned to her, superior. "There, he's dead." She stated simply.

Anko leaned against the wall casually, staring at her mentee. "Excellent." Pausing, she took out her own gun. "Do you know why I had you kill that mole?"

Sakura, heart thumped wildly, "Because, he was a traitor." She replied, trying to compose her face.

Anko nodded, "Yes, that was true, but it's also a reminder." She purred, extending her long slender hands around the trigger of the gun. She turned to the side swiftly, and shot the dead man once more through the head. Even more blood gushed out onto the floor in rivulets.

Sakura bit her lip, "You didn't have to do that." She whispered softly. "He was already dead." Her stomach roiled around like the teal waves of the ocean. Bile threatened to spill out of her mouth at any second.

"Being undercover, it's important that you cast an illusion for the enemies around you. However, "Anko's lavender eyes narrowed, "You might get caught under your own illusion. Do you understand?" she asked in a light voice.

Sakura shook her head, "What are you trying to—"

Anko leaned dangerously close to Sakura's face, "What I'm saying is that, if you get so close to Uchiha and forget that you are only supposed to pretend you love him." She gestured violently to the bloody man, "You're going to end up like him." She smiled maliciously.

Sakura swallowed and managed a snort, "Do you mean to say, I no longer have your trust Anko-sama?" she asked sweetly, her green eyes steely.

Anko let out a throaty laugh, "Oh dear God, no. I trust you completely Sakura, that you will not have poor judgment around pretty boys. It's simply a reminder. We have been having an infestation of moles. I can't have you leaking information, is that clear?" She twirled the gun around one finger, giggling to herself.

"Clear as crystal. Of course, I don't see why it matters. I'm faithful, always have been always will be." Sakura obediently answered.

Anko stared at her amusedly for a second, "Good, that's what I like to hear." She reached down to tuck her gun in her black boots and then straightened up. "I want you to check back with Shikamaru daily. Any complications that arise, Shikamaru should hear." With that she turned on her heels and left the room.

Sakura let out a shallow breath, thank god that was over with. She heard a tentative knocking on the door of the room and she raised her head weakly, "Come in."

The door creaked open and Shikamaru walked through with his hands in his sweat pants. "Yo—holy damn, what happened here?" he gasped in shock as he saw the blood stains of the wall and the corpse which lay limp only 10 feet away.

Sakura glanced up, her eyes blank, "A mole."

Shikamaru growled, "Damnit. I knew it. She's been paranoid lately."

She nodded mechanically, "You know what that means." She replied mirthlessly.

Shikamaru yawned, "Yeah, yeah. Extra precautions, so as not to tick off her royal majesty. I got it." He replied irritably.

"Shikamaru." She snarled in a warning tone. "I mean it."

Shikamaru nodded and at that moment, Sakura heard the clipping of Anko's boots approach once more. She motioned for him to be quiet as the sounds drew nearer.

She held her breath and bit her lip to prevent any oaths from flying out. Anko came in, her malicious smile still plastered on her flawless face. "Sakura—Oh, Shikamaru! Just the person I need to talk too."

Shikamaru raised a lazy eyebrow, "Really?" It was unusual considering, Anko didn't normally talk to him, except for missions.

"Yes. You see this rag?" she held up a tattered pink cloth.

"Yes?" Shikamaru didn't like where this was going.

Anko tossed him to rag, "Clean up the blood, and have Shino properly dispose of the body."

Shikamaru didn't bother to catch the rag, "Do I have too?" he whined.

"Yes." She repeated with narrowed eyes.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Did you need to talk to me, Anko-sama?"

Anko blinked slowly as if trying to remember what she was going to say, "Oh! Yes, my business partner suspects that an assassination plot is centered on him. He needs a young woman to attend the party, in disguise, to watch his back. You fit the job so I told him you'd do it."

Sakura nodded affirmatively, "And where is this assassination to take place at?" she asked innocently.

Anko waved a careless hand, "The Red Dragon Hotel, his name is Akihiko Noriko."

**A/N: I'm very sorry for not updating sooner! I just realized it's been a while, so I decided to crank out the ninth chapter :) I hope you guys enjoyed it, REVIEWS are ALWAYS, ALWAYS welcome so please tell me what you think. Anyways, uhhh, wow. There's not much to say except for thank you for supporting me!**

**THANKS TO...**

**Crazycuban**

**DarkSacredJewelXoX**

**ding-a-ling-lee**

**UndeadWithoutCoffee**

**Anonymous**

**TorieStar**

**EvilChildGenius**

**Silentwolf98**

**TonightsWorthFightingFor.**

**screamintosilence**

**when hell freezes over 1**

**bestfriendsmusic**

**Rainee 1211**

**THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Surprise Arrivals**

**Bridgewater Terrace Apartments 214**

**10:00 PM**

Sakura looked cautiously outside the window, into the deep blue sky. She counted her breaths one by one and counted her fingers one by one. It was all there, but she felt empty. Like, something had been stolen from her, like she had left something back at Kurokage that she would never be able to retrieve.

She turned away from the depressing view to face her newly-reunited best friend, Ino Yamanaka who was still as gorgeous as she remembered. She had shown up 10 minutes earlier, proclaiming a surprise sleepover. Damn, she had missed having a best girlfriend. Ino's long blonde hair was in her usual ponytail with her hair curled. She wore fitted track pants and a tight pink sweatshirt.

Ino let out a delighted giggle as she plopped onto the navy blue sofa with a large bowl of buttered popcorn. "God, I feel like I'm back in high school again." She grinned over at Sakura, who was curling her hair into ringlets.

The pink-haired girl looked up, "Hmm? Oh, yeah, same here." She responded distractedly. She bit her lip in annoyance at herself. Couldn't she at least act excited for Ino's benefit? She loved Ino to death and was ecstatic at their reunion but it couldn't have come at a worse time, right in the middle of an undercover operation. She had to lie about everything. She had to be cautious that she didn't slip up, or Anko would order Ino's assassination.

Ino cocked a waxed eyebrow, "What's up with you? I kind of thought you would be happy to see me after you left Japan." She sniffed arrogantly, not wanting to show any hurt.

Sakura cursed mentally, she was way too easy to read, so much for being a spy. "I like somebody." She blurted out and then almost immediately regretted it. She remembered the last time she had confessed to Ino about liking a boy; she never heard the end of her teasing.

The blonde woman grinned slowly, in a Cheshire-like manner. "Oh? And who is this boy? Or girl." She added teasingly.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Wow. You would." She muttered under her breath. "I-never mind. Let's just watch the movie already. Forget it. I just met him; it's nothing, besides you would tell him." She got up to reach for the rented movie but Ino let out a screech of victory.

"It's Sasuke, isn't it?" she cried triumphantly. "You like your boss!"

_Eff. _

Sakura froze and clenched her jaw together, well; Ino wasn't her best friend for nothing. She turned to face her friend's gorgeous face. "Nope. You're wrong." She answered calmly, trying to use the lying skills she thought she had.

Ino smirked, "Oh yeah? Please Sakura. I can tell when you're lying from a mile away." She laughed good-naturedly but that just made Sakura's blood run cold. Was that true? Then, would she find about her affiliation with Kurokage...what about her other secrets?

She snapped out of her reverie and decided to tell the truth. She would have to keep the lies to a minimum if she was to stay undercover. "Fine, you got me there." She growled.

Ino chuckled, "I understand your attraction. I mean, why not? He's hot. He's got money. He's charming. You'd be blind to not blush in front of this guy." She causally tossed popcorn in the air and caught it in her mouth. "You're lucky, though. You work directly for him. You get to spend time with him." She smiled cunningly.

Sakura sighed and buried her head in between her knees, "I know. But, isn't it a little weird? I just met him and the crazy thing is," she looked up, "I feel like I've seen him before, not in a corny way, but like I've actually seen him before in the past." She whispered the last part unconsciously.

Ino gagged, "Okay, okay. Stop. Stop, with the 'I feel like I've met you before' crap. It's sickening." She put her hands around her neck, like she was choking.

Sakura stuck her tongue out, "Like you haven't done cheesier things in high school." She paused, "Anyways, he is certainly good looking and everything, but…" _I'm a killer._ She silently added.

Ino rolled her eyes, "But what? Shut it, forehead. He may have a fiancée, but by the time, I'm done with you, he'll drop her faster than last season's collection of Burberry."

Sakura frowned, "Wait…what do you mean 'when you're done with me'?" she recoiled in horror as she realized what it meant.

She gave a sly smile, "Why, a makeover, by yours truly. Of course, it won't take as long, seeing as how gorgeous you already are. I just need to touch up a few things. Add shine to your hair, give you a manicure and a pedicure, detox your skin, and other stuff." She flipped her own, blinding blonde hair over her shoulder. "It'll take at least 4 hours." She shrugged.

Sakura's mouth dropped open and she backed away, "C-c'mon, four hours? I'm fine. I'll pass." She insisted hastily.

Ino glared, her ice blue eyes piercing Sakura's skull, "Do it, or I tell Sasuke." She growled menacingly.

Sakura reddened, and protested, "T-that's blackmail!" she wailed.

Ino shrugged, checking her own cuticles, "All's fair in love and war."

* * *

**Uchiha Corporations, downtown Tokyo**

**9:30 AM**

Sasuke growled irritably and barked at Tenten, "Where the hell is she?" he asked. He fumed silently, he didn't like it that she wasn't here. It didn't seem like Sakura to be late, what if something was wrong?

Tenten shrugged and coolly looked through a stack of files, "She called and said she was stuck in traffic. Didn't I tell you?" she took a long sip of coffee, "And don't act like you didn't just get here a couple of minutes ago." Tenten had her hair in a ponytail today with her hair curled. She wore dress trousers and a ruffled lavender blouse.

He frowned and looked at his reflection in the glass window; he had dark circles under his eyes. It wasn't his fault that he lived right above one of the hottest clubs in town. He constantly heard music pumping through his hard wood floor and it kept him awake, especially on stressful nights. He growled at his unmerciful friend, "A lot of help you are." He muttered under his breath.

The phone rang at her desk and she held up a finger, "Just a second. Hello?"

She listened for a little bit and then she grew pale. "Yes, however, I was under the impression that you weren't visiting for quite a bit." She answered nervously, twiddling with her hair.

Sasuke stopped and glanced curiously over, who was it?

"Yes, I understand. Of course…today? Oh! Ah—I'm sure that won't be a problem. Yes, thank you for calling, see you very soon." Tenten put down the receiver with trembling hands. She looked up her eyes wide, "Oh, shit." She whispered.

He came over worriedly, "Who was that?" he asked hurriedly.

She grabbed her cellphone and began dialing numbers in, "The FBI representatives." She hissed.

Sasuke froze, "The FBI? They're not supposed to be here so soon! Are you sure?" he demanded.

"Either that or it was somebody who could perfectly imitate Gaara Sabaku's voice." She snapped angrily at her boss's reaction. She took a breath as the person on the other end of the line picked up, "Kiba, the FBI is coming in less than half an hour, and I need you to set up all precautions. Understood? Good." She snapped the phone shut.

Sasuke stood still, "Okay, calm down Tenten. What does Gaara-san want? An inspection? Is somebody in our office a person of interest?" he questioned.

She wailed, "I don't know, he just said he wanted to drop by, which could mean anything!" she rushed around nervously. "Should I contact Madara?" she panicked.

Sasuke shook his head, "Don't. Neji and I can deal with him. Just calm down, it's probably just a formal routine thing the FBI has to do."

Tenten silently nodded and attempted to calm down. "Alright, you and Neji get down to the conferencing room. I'll contact Sakura and tell her to hurry up. Should Kiba proceed with identity checks?"

Sasuke nodded, "Of course and also—"

BAM! The door slammed open as Sakura came hurrying in, looking flustered. She looked incredibly gorgeous even in her rushed state with her skin radiant and her hair in a bun with two chopsticks enfolded in her pink locks. She wore a short plum dress, a white and black blazer and matching black tights completed with heels. "Eff. I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic was horrible and I overslept." She moaned.

He smirked, his mood considerably lightened just from seeing her. "First week, and you're already tardy." He teased.

Tenten's voice was strained, "As much as you guys feel like flirting right now, we have a dilemma. Remember? FBI agents? Does that ring a bell?" she reminded them in an annoyed manner.

Sakura looked up surprised, "FBI? Why would the FBI be doing in a business corporation?" Was it for the reason she thought it was? Because of Akatsuki? She had to be careful not to slip up around them.

Sasuke shrugged it off, damn; it was getting hard to deal with his double life. "Nothing, it's just a routine inspection to make sure we have no corruption going on in our business. We don't so, it'll just take a few minutes." He ran a hand through his dark spiky hair.

Sakura snorted inwardly, no corruption? She started, "Is it alright if I accompany you to the meeting?" she asked hesitantly. She needed to find out what they were going to say, what information was going to be passed.

Sasuke shook his head, "Nope. Confidential meeting." He shrugged and put on his suit jacket and proceeded to leave the room, "Come on, Tenten."

Tenten threw an apologetic look over her shoulder, but followed her boss out the door.

Sakura sulked silently. Maybe she could hack into the security network. She was a bit rusty, but she could try it. She might as well take advantage of the situation. Sakura looked around cautiously and then sat down on Sasuke's comfy leather chair and began logging in. She took off her shoe and pulled out the heel which was a USB conveniently disguised into her footwear. She pulled the USB in to the computer and waited for it to hack in.

Her blood ran cold as she heard footsteps approaching, damn it. She should have locked the door! She got up calmly and stood up right as a red haired woman came walking in the door with her ID card hanging loosely around her neck.

"Oh!" the lady exclaimed in surprised. "I thought Uchiha-san would be here." She giggled nervously, glancing from side to side. She wore a fitted blue argyle sweater and a short pleated skirt, that made her look more of a schoolgirl than an office worker.

"Well he's not." She responded coolly. "He's in a very important meeting right now. He asked me to contact Kiba-san in security. Would you happen to know what floor that's located on?"

The red-haired woman snorted, "He works on Level 5, however, only executives can access that floor, like me." She held up her ID card smugly. Sakura could see the name on the ID card, Shiori Tsukami.

An idea burst into her head, how perfect. Sakura began structuring out her plan, calculating the amount of time and the things need, a skill she learned from Anko. She even had the right equipment necessary. Sakura stepped forward and connected her fist to the woman's stomach and punched hard.

The woman was pushed back, and she lay on the floor gasping for breath, the wind knocked out of her. Sakura could see that her eyes were already closing, she was going unconscious. Sakura stood over her body and took out on of the chopsticks in her hair and removed the protective covering to reveal a needle. She took it and stuck it into her leg, "Sorry." She muttered under her breath. "This is going to leave you a little disoriented, oh and, you won't have any memory of me." She snatched the ID card off her body and took a red strand of hair.

From her purse she withdrew a vial and she gingerly placed the strand of hair within the concoction and shook it up. It was a replicant poison that allowed her to take the appearance of somebody for 20 minutes at the cost of excruciating pain circling through the veins. Not only did it allow you to have the physical appearance, but the voice, the DNA, everything was replicated, so that you physically were that person, only you could control their mind. It had been tested multiple times by Kurokage and although it left the user weak, it wasn't a fatal drug.

She bit her lip and placed the vial down. "First, I'll take your clothes." She muttered to the red-haired woman. "That way I can maximize my 20 minutes." Cringing, she undressed the woman and slipped off her own clothes and put on the argyle sweater and black pleated skirt. "This better be worth it." She growled under her breath.

She held up the drug, looking at it for a few seconds and then she tipped it over, right into her mouth.

**

* * *

**

**Uchiha Corporations Level 5, Security Quarters**

**9:41 AM**

Kiba Inzuka was a tall, lanky man with floppy brown hair and strange red scars that ran along his cheek, which were a result of betraying the FBI. He had been caught hacking the FBI server and passing along information to Akatsuki, he had been tortured, but that was so far in the past, he laughed at the memory today. He now worked for Akatsuki as their main security guy. As he was in charge, he hardly had to do anything, except for emergency security precautions. He had been surprised to see through the security camera, the Sabaku Siblings, or the Sinister Siblings as he had nicknamed them.

They were ruthless, efficient, and could sniff a mole a mile away. They were all from Japan, but resided in America, being representatives for the FBI. He particularly hated Temari, the oldest, as she had been the one to catch him. She was a bossy woman, with her blonde hair always styled away from her striking face. Gaara was the quiet one, but it was the quiet ones that you had to watch. He did things perfectly, never tripped up and always did things without a hint of emotion. Kankuro was the ill-tempered one and also a master manipulator, he earned the nickname 'puppeteer' because of the way he could control people with his actions and words. Looking at the Sabaku Siblings made him seethe with rage but he chuckled to himself, knowing, no matter how hard they looked, they could never come up with solid evidence that Akatsuki resided within Uchiha Corporations. They probably suspected it, but they would always come out empty-handed.

He heard a knocking at his door and he rolled his eyes, it was probably one of the lower recruits asking him a basic question. "Come in! Doors open!"

The door opened to reveal a tall curvaceous red haired woman, who was panting, like she was out of breath. Her face was contorted into an expression of pain. "Yeah-are you—are you, Inzuka-san?" she asked breathlessly.

He looked over at her curiously, "Yeah, that me. Are you okay?" he asked frowning. He sat up straighter as he didn't usually see attractive woman coming up to him every day. He would have thought having an adorable puppy, Akamaru, would have attracted some females, but sadly, he was left single.

She nodded and waved a careless hand, "I'm fine, just ran up the stairs so—so—I'm a little out of breath." She bit her lip. "I wish to watch the conference going on between the FBI representatives." She held up her ID card for access.

He examined it half-heartedly, if she could access this floor, it was practically unnecessary to make sure that she wasn't a spy. After all, there was a top-notch security system installed. He read the name, "Shiori Tsukami. Level 5, all right here you are." He opened up the security cameras within the conferencing room." He glanced over at the woman whose jaw was clenched tightly. Whatever. She probably had period cramps.

Sakura, in Shiori's guise turned to Kiba, and hit the back of his head, with a solid swing of her fist. She held him up by the shoulder, so that he wouldn't come crashing down on the keyboard. "Thanks." She muttered between gasps. "You're a huge help." She took out the last chopstick from her hair and removed the covering and stabbed it into his neck. It was the same poison she had drugged Shiori with. It was a fast acting poison that left the victim disoriented with memory loss and only lasted for 5 minutes. When they woke up, they felt fatigued, as if they had just fallen asleep. She inserted her USB into his laptop and waited for it to copy data over onto her flash drive. "Come on, come on." She muttered.

Waiting for it to complete, she turned to the security screen and watched the meeting with mild interest. Knowing the FBI's tactics from past experiences she knew that they were subtle. They wouldn't try anything risky at a formal meeting like this. She saw the three FBI representatives, two boys and a girl sitting across the table from Sasuke, Tenten and a brown, long-haired man she assumed was Neji, Tenten's boyfriend. Sakura smirked as she examined the couple, they did look good together; she mused. Sharp pains stabbed her in a dozen areas all along her body and she had to lean onto the desk for support. She hissed out an oath and let out a sigh of relief as she heard a light beep from the computer signifying that the copy was done.

She closed the screen, to erase any evidence of her being here. She pulled out the USB as it completed and blew a kiss to Kiba,

"Your help is always appreciated." She smiled smugly.

* * *

**Uchiha Corporations, Level 2 Conferencing Room**

**Earlier…**

Temari Sabaku hated Sasuke Uchiha with a passion. He was the epitome of all the things she hated in a guy. He was good looking and he knew it. He was cunning and intelligent and he knew it. To top things off, he was so sure of himself that he would not get caught by the FBI. Of course, the FBI couldn't arrest Japanese Mafias as really had no legal business in Japan if it didn't affect their own citizens, but, they had an alliance program with Tokyo PD. They helped Tokyo PD find the corruption and the PD ripped out the corruption by the roots. It was a satisfying job and ideal for her as she had been born in America by two Japanese refugees. She liked returning to her roots and helping people.

She glared at him with her steely blue eyes and cleared her throat, "Morning, Uchiha-san, as always, it's a pleasure to reacquaint ourselves again." She greeted with a false sweetness to her voice.

He snorted, "Cut the crap, Sabaku. Let's get to the root of why you're here." His eyes burned so intensely that they resembled hot coals, on the brink of exploding.

Gaara's eyes flickered to his sister, "Temari." He said simply in a warning tone. He was on good terms with his sister but, when she got caught up with her rivalry with Uchiha it annoyed the hell out of him.

Temari pursed her lips, "Hmph. I'm not trying to start anything. I wouldn't have to be here if the Uchihas' had anything to hide." She added ruefully, crossing her arms together over her sleek FBI vest.

Kankuro crooned, "Now, now. Let's all be the happy siblings we know we are. Uchiha's right after all. We need to get to the point, after all—we have some business to attend here in Japan." He leaned back and smiled charismatically.

Neji gave a crisp nod and handed him a file, "This contains our progress, all information you need to know about the company in recent years."

Tenten looked on stiffly at the interaction between Neji and Kankuro. She eyed the gun partially concealed by Kankuro's jacket and viewed it distrustfully. "I-is there any reason why your appointment had to be moved up, Gaara-san?" she questioned with narrowed brown eyes.

Gaara looked up, a tad bit surprised at her sudden question. His eyes remained blank and devoid of emotion, "Ah, no. Merely, our secretary was incompetent and scheduled a more urgent engagement resulting in a conflict of schedules. I do apologize for the inconvenience." He gave a little tilt of his head. "You're quite lucky that you have such an apt secretary Uchiha."

Sasuke nodded silently and glanced at Neji whose fists clenched tightly as the conversation turned to Tenten.

Temari smirked as she saw Tenten turn pale. "Is it possible, Uchiha-san that she also knows of your— affiliations?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow. She watched as Tenten turned whiter than a sheet and grasped her clipboard tighter.

"If you did, she's the weak link of your secret. She could, be the one to undo all your hard work in concealing your true line of work. Just think, the slightest drop of truth serum in her food could result in destruction…" Tenten's mouth opened as she tried to protest but no words came out. Temari continued, "Remember Uchiha, we don't have mercy on people like you." She turned to Tenten, "Better do something about your loose lips if you want to save your friends." She taunted.

Neji stood up, slamming his fist down on the table, "Enough!" he growled. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about! All these conspiracy theories you have against our company are unsubstantial! I don't care though, keep Tenten out of it!" he hissed.

Temari was a bit taken a back and looked at Sasuke was it possible that this man had no knowledge of Akatsuki? She snorted, how had Uchiha managed to keep it under wraps from his right hand man? And how was it possible that Tenten knew about Akatsuki but Neji didn't?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward and hissed, "Temari, I think you dropped something on the floor, I heard something fall." He suggested in a steady voice.

Temari furrowed her brow confused; obviously he was trying to say something. She bent down to pick up whatever it was and under the desk she clearly saw the outline of a gun, directed straight to her head. She inhaled sharply and let out a low chuckle. She knew that Sasuke wouldn't shoot her right here but the message was clear_. Shut up or I'll hunt you down._She straightened up, "Must of have been something else." She replied nonchalantly. It was fine for now. She wouldn't tell Neji about Akatsuki, her job was to get justice, not spread knowledge of mafia groups. It interested her that he was so protective of his friends while he was a killer. It pained her to let him win this petty victory, but she wasn't going to fall to his level.

Sasuke leaned back with a cocky smile, knowing he had won. "Anything else, you need?" Tenten let out a sigh of relief as the three FBI agents stood up.

Kankuro shook his head, "No, thank you very much for your time." He looked over at Tenten apologetically, "Excuse my sister for her sudden outburst. It's not like her to off like that."

Neji growled, "She's crazy and I don't want her talking crap around here."

Temari gave him a withering glare and then turned to leave. She slipped on a pair of tinted sunglasses and stepped outside the conference room, sauntering out confidently,

_Just wait, Uchiha Sasuke, I'll bury you with all the dirt I have on you._

* * *

**A/N: I FIGURED OUT HOW TO INSERT LINES! YAY!...oh gawsh i sounded stupid. sorry, for like the longest time I couldn't find the button and then my cousin did...i'm like oh. I KNEW THAT. JUST TESTING YOU. **

**CHAPTER TEN! YEAH! We're getting into them double digits! Okay, so I hope you enjoyed it and I sincerely apologize for not updating as quickly as I usually do. There was a stupid error with fanfiction and I could have had this updated days ago, so I apologize. SO I made this chapter longer for you guys! Things have been a little hectic, but I'm balancing it all out. Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW. REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS HELPFUL and they help me UPDATE FASTER.**

**Regarding the plot, if you're wondering how such a ditzy woman got to be a LEVEL 5 executive it's called wealth and connections, she's loaded heheh, anyways, oh! and the NORIKO AKIHIKO will be in the next chapter, do not worry, i did not just abandon it! I just wanted to add this part before i got into the clash that happens in the next chapter.**

**I don't know about you guys but I like writing about the spy and the disguises part so the next chapter will have ALOT of that. Tell me how i'm doing on that part. Does it sound to unrealistic, its supposed to be a bit, but not over the top. OHKAY THANKS YOU GUYSS!**

**Anyways people have been wondering how old I am, I don't see how this is relevant but I'm thirteen! Yuppers :)**

**Thank you so much for your support:**

**Rainee 1211**

**..CHoMP.**

**madskittlez**

**Kahoko**

**goth lolita**

**Wasp**

**Kiko**

**lIf'slIkamazetAk1rongtrnurlost**

**Cryptic Parchment**

**GoujuShouri**

**Happyxlovablexsushiii**

**Mistressinwaiting**

**hardblackbubble**

**ding-a-ling-lee**

**NinjaKrabz**

**Candy Blossomhearts**

**Anonymous**

**Midnighter67**

**TheCinnamorollBoo**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Bang Bang**

**Kurokage Headquarters**

**4:38 PM**

Sakura yawned tiredly as she looked around the gray walls of the Kurokage briefing room. She sullenly wished that she was going to go to work tomorrow instead of protecting some old geezer. Sakura knew perfectly well what her wish meant. It meant that she was getting attached to Uchiha, but she couldn't care less at this point. She deserved to have a life outside of crime and killing. Sakura was tired of playing charades, tired of having to lie to people she trusted. She whined inwardly as she dare didn't do it in front of her superior.

Her superior loomed over her in 4 inch Gucci heels. She had straightened her hair so that it hung in layered lavender wisps that just touched her hair. Anko's outfit consisted of tight pants a crisp button-up and a bright, studded blue belt that added eccentricity. Anko handed her a small package and Sakura took it cautiously, "It's your uniform for tonight. You're posing as a waitress. Something that you're quite capable of I believe."

Sakura frowned at the unoriginality of her disguise and then her frowned deepened as she viewed the uniform. It was a knee-length kimono with a light purple lotus pattern and a deep violet obi and a magenta ribbon. The sleeves were off the shoulder and she knew that the cloth would barely cover her chest.

Anko looked expectantly at her, "Well, what do you think?"

Sakura felt the texture of the silky kimono and held it up to view it with a critical eye. "It's pretty." She replied simply. "But it's very…" she trailed off as she viewed the thigh high slit on the sides of the kimono.

"Risqué?" Anko supplied. "Mm. Of course it is. Did you think that the business convention would be just a couple of old men sitting around discussing stocks? It's more like a party with hot waitresses, like you."

The pink-haired lady frowned, "Quite a crass way to put it." She mumbled under her breath. "It's fine with me. It'll be easier to move around.

Anko smiled and Sakura noticed she had been doing that quite a bit after Sakura had retrieved a gold mine of information about Uchiha Corporations, "You know, I must commend you on your data breach. I underestimated you."

Sakura looked up, "Yeah? No biggie." She muttered. "Speaking of which, I used up all my poison needles and my stock of AP3NX, the replication poison. I need some more of it, just in case tonight."

Anko nodded, "Of course. I'll be sure to inform Shikamaru. Shino will be accompanying you tonight under the guise of a business man. Although you and Shikamaru work exceptionally well together, I've decided for Shino to be your partner instead. He looks 100 times the business man than Shikamaru." She chuckled softly at her own joke and then glanced at her protégé. "I heard that your past caught up to you."

Sakura froze and mechanically shrugged, "Ino? Yes, she works for the Tokyo PD, lieutenant, I believe." She answered, her heart hammering in her chest. How did Anko find out? She hadn't told anybody at Kurokage. She cursed as she remembered the time that Ino came over spontaneously, her apartment must have been bugged.

Anko let out a cackle, "PD? That's so ironic. I have to meet her; she's your best friend isn't she? You'd be upset if I touched her, wouldn't you? I could just—"

Sakura stood up abruptly, her eyes wild with anger, "Don't you dare." She hissed out menacingly, "She has nothing, nothing, to do with this. If you touch her—"

Anko leaned back amused, "Please. I was just having fun. It's not like I'm going to go around massacring everybody. You know me, I don't act recklessly. You have to be careful not to slip up around her; the smallest mistake could lead to her death." Her eyes were narrowed as she viewed Sakura with a trace of distrust in her eyes.

"I never slip up." Sakura insisted defiantly.

Anko shrugged, "It's just a reminder." She replied icily.

"Am I interrupting something?" Shino's gravelly voice broke into the tense conversation and both ladies jumped back. In their heated moment they hadn't noticed Shino walk in. Shino had footsteps as quiet as death and he didn't always look very inconspicuous. He wore high collared shirts and large glasses so often that Sakura couldn't even remember the last time she saw Shino's face without any obscurities.

"Shino!" she greeted, her voice thick with surprise, "Are you ready for tonight? I just got my uniform, you?" Sakura forced herself to calm the hell down but it made her so angry to hear Anko speaking so carelessly about Ino.

Shino rolled his eyes, "I was ready a while ago. Are you and Anko done with your catfight?" he asked dryly.

Anko smirked, "All done. You missed the finale." She replied sarcastically. Flipping her layered hair over her shoulder she turned to open her large briefcase on a nearby table. She withdrew a tube of lipstick and handed it to Sakura. "Here." She said stiffly, "It's a camera within the lipstick. Just roll it up and it'll automatically take a picture."

Sakura took it quizzically, "A camera? I thought this was a security detail?"

Anko nodded, "It is. I want you to do some snooping around in the hotel as well though, as you're setting up security precautionary measures. I need you to get some blackmail, that way if Akihiko Noriko bails on his payment, I have some incentive." She smiled maliciously.

Sakura snorted, Of course. Typical back-stabbing Anko. "Any other gadgets for me?" she asked lightly.

Anko pulled out a jewelry case and handed it to Sakura. "These are a pair of earrings that will allow you to converse with Shino when needed." Sakura took the pair of earrings and examined them; they were simple black pearls with a dull sheen when held up to a light. "We're going simple tonight?" Sakura asked.

"Well, of course. We're playing defense not offense tonight. However, I would advise you to keep some knives hidden in your obi, it might prove useful. I'll inform Shikamaru that you need more hair pins and AP3NX."

She turned to Shino, "You on the other hand, have a lot of gadgets that I think you'll be more than entertained with tonight." She chuckled softly to herself.

Shino raised a questioning eyebrow, "Like?"

Anko pulled out a smaller briefcase from within her own briefcase. Sakura let out a little giggle as she was reminded of Mary Poppins's depthless bag and the thought of calculating Anko being similar to prim Mary Poppins was enough to make Sakura want to choke with laughter.

She handed Shino the briefcase and tsked when he tried to open it. "Ah, I wouldn't try that if I were you!" she cautioned with a sly smile. "This briefcase emits an anesthesia gas when opened. It knocks the victim out for one hour. I figure that a business man should carry a briefcase after all, correct?" she smiled proudly at her own idea.

Shino nodded sharply and Anko handed him a silver Rolex watch. "This works as a microphone, you will be able to converse with Sakura and your voice will be transmitted through her earrings, easy, right? And this is my all-time favorite." She smiled mysteriously and took out a pair of very thick horn-rimmed glasses.

Anko removed Shino's tinted glasses to reveal gray eyes that were narrowed irritably at the intrusion. Sakura swore there was a light glasses tan across his face. Anko placed the horn-rimmed glasses accordingly and stepped back satisfied at what she saw. "Hidden within the glasses are tiny pill capsules. One pill completely stops the heart within a few seconds, quite deadly, I daresay." She flashed her bright teeth in a grin. "Of course, don't be afraid to pop one in yourself. If you are caught by any enemy agents, that is your plan A, understood?" she asked severely.

Sakura's mouth dropped open to protest, "Anko-sama! You want him to commit suicide?" she asked in horror.

Anko shrugged, "We can't risk having Intel get out. You understand, after all, if I'm not mistaken you just killed a mole not days ago." She let out a light snicker; she drew out a kunai and began playing with it.

Sakura's mouth was sealed shut by guilt and she turned to Shino who just looked blankly at Anko. She didn't know how the hell he could just sit there and look calmly at a woman who had just given him a suicide pill! Sakura clenched her fists together, drawing blood onto her fingertips. "I understand." She replied hollowly. Anko was her superior right now, she had to follow orders.

Shino's eyes flickered from side to side as silence cloaked the roam. "I assume we're ready to leave then? 7:30 draws close as we speak." He warned in a whisper-soft voice.

Sakura nodded and then knelt down on one leg and bowed her head, Shino followed suit. "One word from you Anko-sama and we'll follow." Shino declared quietly.

Anko chuckled, "Alright, let's proceed with the mission. Don't forget to have fun!" she reminded them with a childish giggle, twirling her kunai round her finger.

**Red Dragon Hotel, Rika District**

**7: 29 PM**

When Sakura had to disguise for a mission, she didn't just disguise, she became somebody else. She loved going all out because she enjoyed being somebody besides herself. It was a relief to shed her skin and pretend to be anybody she could imagine. Often, she would make up background stories about the people she posed as. Tonight, she was Kiri Hamashima, a struggling waitress who was a bit neurotic and liked to have everything perfect and in order. Sakura had worn a curly auburn wig with her bangs swept to the side. Her jade eyes had been replaced for chocolate brown contacts and she wore angular green glasses. Sakura hadn't even recognized herself when she had examined her position in the bathroom mirror. Her kimono was in place and she felt the knives pressed inside her obi and another knife attached to her thigh.

Her black, pear earrings crackled to life as Shino's voice came over the speaker, "Slug, are you in position?" Sakura had knocked out the maître d' earlier and took her position with ease. Nobody noticed the former maître d's absence which was pure luck for Sakura. She smiled and nodded as customers passed by.

"That's an affirmative, Beetle. Where are you by the way?" she asked curiously.

"By the bar." He replied simply. Sakura glanced over to the eastern wall. She squinted through the dimly lit club and saw Shino sitting on a barstool, glaring at his drink. He wore a sharp suit with a deep purple tie and his glasses slipped down onto his straight nose. He had applied a fake moustache and scar to his face at Chouji's insistence. She chuckled, "Nice getup." She murmured under her breath.

Shino responded immediately, "Shut it Haruno." The fact that he had forgotten to say 'slug' proved his embarrassment at her teasing, she smiled and then greeted another customer as he passed by. "O shokuji o o tanoshimi kudasai!" she called cheerfully.

Sakura muttered quietly, "Is Akihiko here?"

She saw Shino nod and then saw him nod, gesturing to the man two seats away from his place in the bar. Akihiko was a small man who nervously glanced from side to side. Anko had told her that Akihiko was aware of the assassination contract on his life; she didn't blame him for being scared. His gray hair stuck out in tiny little tufts and his gray beard was cut unevenly as if hacked off by an amateur.

She bit her lip and then let out a reluctant sigh. It was time to play the vixen card. Sakura pushed down the sleeves of her kimono so that her neck and shoulders were exposed. Moving towards Akihiko she put on a seductive smile. "Dono yō ni kon'yadesu ka?" she purred. _How are you tonight?_

She literally saw his black eyes light up as he viewed her up and down he put on a half-smile. He obviously thought she was attractive but was still thinking of his imminent death. Leaning closer she put a hand on his chest and let it roam around. "Koko de, anata no tsumadesu ka? Kitto anata no yōna otoko wa, tan'itsude wa arimasen." _Where is your wife? Surely a man like you isn't single._ She let out a high giggle and moved her hand down, searching for his hotel key. She moved her hand to the pocket inside his suit and found what she was looking for.

Akihiko's eyes glittered, "Ue ni shifuto wa arimasu ka? Osoraku, watashi wa o sake o kōnyū suru koto ga dekimasu." _Is your shift over? Perhaps I can buy you a drink._

Sakura leaned back and slipped the card into her sleeve. She bit her lip in a flirtatious gesture. "Watashi wa sū-jikan de anata ni aeru." _I'll meet you in a couple of hours. _She turned her back and strutted out confidently, grimacing to herself. _Pervert_, she snorted. Sakura discreetly walked by Shino, dropping the card into the bag by his bar stool so that he could make a copy of the key.

She took her place back at the entrance, musing to herself knowing that the copying would take but a few minutes. She busied herself organizing the menus and fiddling with the uneven edges of the paint job.

"Excuse me? I'd like a table for one." A velvet voice asked above her.

Sakura froze in mid-action and her blood ran cold. That smooth, silky voice couldn't belong to him. But it all made sense. Why wouldn't he be here? It was a business convention for god's sake! Of course he would be here! She lifted her head to look into Sasuke Uchiha's smoldering eyes and tousled hair. "Kokorokara no shazai ga, watashi wa eigo o hanasu koto wa arimasen." She replied shakily. _My deepest apologies, but I don't speak English._

Sasuke stood tall in a black suit and midnight colored tie. He carried with him a professional looking briefcase and carried himself in a way that Sakura practically wanted to drop her charade right then and there. He nodded in understanding and paused, "Ah, Anata wa, 1tsu no tēburu o motte imasu ka?" _Do you have a table for one?_

Sakura pretended to just understand and she directed him to a table on the far left. She didn't dare to look him in the face, scared that he would recognize her. "Achiradesu." She mumbled quietly.

Sasuke barely gave her a second glance and proceeded to sit down. Sakura let out a shallow breath and began to walk quickly over to the bar. She brushed against Shino's backside and quickly retrieved the card inconspicuously. Sakura made her way to the elevator and shoved her way past the drunken crowd and practically jumped onto the elevator. She slid the hotel key into the slot and it immediately let out a cheery ding and the elevator began to move.

The assassin collapsed onto the floor, panting with emotional exertion. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why did he have to be here? She growled at her fate which seemed to turn on her every damn moment of her life. Breathing in, she attempted to remain calm. It was fine, it wasn't like he had recognized her, and she wasn't here to kill anyways. If anything, if he did see her in action, he would think her some hero trying to save Akihiko. She inhaled sharply and patted her cheeks in an attempt to revitalize herself.

She slipped off her waitress kimono to reveal a maid uniform that consisted of a collared black dress and a frilly white apron. She removed her auburn wig to let another blonde French braided wig cascade down her back. Finally, she removed her thick lenses and placed a false mole on her left cheek. She checked herself once on the wall of the elevator and satisfied she began to pick up her old disguise. The lithe assassin jumped onto the railing of the elevator and pushed against the vent with all her strength. It opened just big enough for her to squeeze her belongings in and close the vent with a loud bang. Sakura jumped down just in time for the elevator to slide open, revealing a posh hallway.

Sakura exited the elevator and observed her surroundings. The floor was covered in Persian carpeting and eclectic paintings hanging on the creamy walls. She glanced at the card to read the room number and then proceeded down the hallway. The pinkette turned blonde found the right door but saw it guarded by a beefy looking man with multiple scars etched across his neck and face. She snorted, he wasn't as big as Chouji, and at best it would take a minute to take him.

Her earpiece crackled and she heard Shino's voice, "Slug. Be clean. I don't want to have to clean up any blood splatters." He ordered in a low voice.

Sakura muttered under her breath, "I know, I know. Can you tell me why we couldn't just tell Mr. Akihiko that we needed the hotel key to set up precautionary measures? It would have been A LOT easier." She grumbled.

She could hear the irritation in his reply, "Anko wanted us to keep our identities a secret, in case Mr. Akihiko tries to double cross us."

She smiled, "Got it." Cracking her knuckles behind her back she approached the man, "Oh, bon! Je vois que vous êtes très dévoués!" she greeted. "You are the bodyguard no?" she held up the hotel key in her right hand.

The bodyguard looked at her and inclined his head, "Are you the housekeeper? Mr. Akihiko said he didn't want anybody in his room." He replied gruffly.

Sakura growled impatiently and drew her body back to snap her leg upward hitting his jaw. "Always got to argue, don't you?"

The man staggered back and tried to reach for his gun. "Are you the assassin?" he shouted.

She propelled her body into the air and landed behind him. Taking her index and ring finger she hit two pressure points on his neck and he went limp in her arms. "Keep it down, Mr. Macho." She muttered. Dragging his body with her, she inserted the key into the room and entered the hotel suite. Sakura placed the bodyguard's body onto the couch and then inserted another poisonous pin into his neck.

Satisfied she withdrew the lipstick tube from within her apron and began to rummage around his room. She opened his large suitcases and tried to find something incriminating. While pulling out ties, boxers, and shirts she knocked on the bottom of the suitcase and sure enough it was hollow. With a smirk, she managed to open the false bottom and found what she was looking for. Dozens of papers and files detailing all his corrupt trades and deals were scattered along the bottom of his suitcase. She decided against taking the papers as she didn't want to arouse any suspicion and proceeded to snap pictures of the papers with the lipstick camera.

When she was finished she placed all his belongings back in the proper position and she was about to zip up the suitcase when she heard the sound of a gun cocking, right at her head. Her blood ran cold but she managed to discreetly tuck the lipstick tube into her apron.

"Hands on your head!" the voice was distorted, as if the intruder was using a sort of mechanism to hide his true voice.

Shaking, Sakura obliged and moved around to face the stranger. It was unmistakably a man who wore all black and a ski mask. His figure was muscular but lean and he towered over her by a good half foot. Her voice faltered, "S-sir, s'il vous plaît, ayez pitié! I am but a maid just cleaning up." She pleaded in a thick French accent. She noticed a mike near his Adam's apple, which probably was the voice distorter.

"Yeah, that's likely." The man snorted. "Which explains the unconscious bodyguard." He steadied the gun and kept his aim on her head. "I'll ask you again. Who are you? Did Anko send you? Better answer or I'll shoot."

Sakura snorted and dropped her pretense, "Please. Save your bullets for Akihiko. I'm the bodyguard; I was just setting up precautionary measures. If anybody has done something wrong, that's going to be you. You're the assassin I presume?" she smirked and drew out her own concealed gun. "Although I'd really love to get to know you, I just don't have the time."

The man let out a bitter robotic laugh, "Anko's standards must have really lowered if she's sending people like you after me. Now toss me whatever you hid in your uniform."

Sakura's eyes flashed angrily at his insult "Look at me. I have a gun at your head as well; I don't listen to cocky bastards like you." She growled but then paused as an idea came into her head. "If you insist though, you can have the data." Sakura withdrew the lipstick tube from her apron and tossed it into the air.

He lowered his gun and raised the opposite hand to catch the tube. With his guard down she jumped up and kicked the gun out of his hand using her right leg and kicked him square in the jaw using her left. She saw the mike dislodged from his throat dropping to the ground.

The man recovered quickly and he managed to drop a blow onto her stomach and she reeled backwards, the wind knocked out of her. She rolled onto the floor gasping for breath. From her place on the floor she saw her dropped gun and picked it up quickly and stood up shakily.

Sakura dodged another blow and lifted her arm to sock him. The man, fast as a hawk, grabbed both arms and twisted them back and placed her in a chokehold. Frantically, Sakura clawed at his arm but to no avail.

His voice was hoarse, "Nice distraction tactic. Too bad it didn't work out." He chuckled. Sakura could barely make out his words as he was panting hard. With a burst of panic she attempted to claw at his face and neck. Angrily she reached up to rip off the ski mask and elbowed him in the stomach. His grip instantly loosened and she grabbed onto his arm and taking his weight onto her back, she flipped him over onto the floor.

Her relief and triumph was short-lived as she caught sight of his face. The tousled, spiky black hair and searing onyx eyes glared at her. She let out a choked sound of surprise and horror. "Uchiha!" she cried out.

He sneered from his position and stood up, leaning on a nearby table for assistance. "Recognize me?" he asked cockily. Sakura was frozen in shock and she didn't know what to do. Akatsuki was behind his assassination? That wasn't much of a surprise but the fact that Sasuke was here to kill somebody conflicted with her. What if he killed her? What if she had to kill him? Her hands shook and she picked up the gun slowly.

Could she kill him?

He was sweet cocky man but all of that didn't matter. Was her allegiance to the organization stronger than her morals? Could she possibly kill somebody she had flirted and befriended in cold blood?

Sasuke noticed her hesitation and taunted her, "What are you going to kill me? I'm in no position to defend myself." He smirked. "Kill me." _At least I won't have to kill anybody tonight. _He thought silently.

Sakura's mind blanked out, her thought and reason leaving her in that split second. She lifted the gun, and aiming carefully, pulled the trigger.

**A/N: that was chapter 11! I hope you enjoyed it! I just love writing cliffhangers LOL they're the best…anyways PLEASE REVIEW. CHAPTERS WILL COME OUT QUICKER IF YOU REVIEW! **

**Ideas are welcome and if you want your OC to be in this story please leave a description for consideration, thank you! **

**I apologize if the fight scene kinda sucked. I'm REALLY bad at writing them. All foreign dialogue is from Google translate. So if there is any discrepancy than I apologize.**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Panic Please**

**Red Dragon Hotel, Rika District**

**8:01 PM**

It's funny that when you're staring face in the death which was in Sasuke's case, a hot French maid with a gun, he wasn't thinking of anything significant. Rather he was thinking of the most trivial things. He was thinking about Naruto, Ino, Tenten, Neji and all of them but all his thoughts were rushing by so fast they were all meshing into one big tangled mess. God, if he couldn't get out of this, things were going to be even more effed up than they started. He bit down on his lip in frustration.

He started uneasily, his vision blurring at the edges a bit. The woman stood before him with a pained expression. Her brown eyes twisted at the edges, her lips quivering ever so slightly. Her blonde braid which was obviously a wig hung frazzled at her jaw line and her glasses were slightly tilted down her nose. Sasuke wondered how she had known him. But, he thought bitterly, why did all of that matter? He was going to die in a few minutes. He didn't even have a chance to yell out something meaningful because the only one who would hear him would be his killer. He observed her for a little bit longer and in a weird way she reminded him of Sakura. The deep conflicted eyes that hid problems she wouldn't speak of. Sakura. He regretted that he wouldn't get to talk to her at least one more time. At least, if he died, she would never know of his secret. He chuckled at the irony.

Looking up at the assassin he barked out with contempt, "What are you going to kill me? I'm in no position to defend myself." He smirked. "Kill me." He uttered the last syllables, taunting her. A pit formed in his stomach, he knew his bravado would only last so long.

The woman hesitated once more, she bit her lip and then raised the gun, aimed, and shot. The echo of the gun continued to ring in the hotel room.

An explosive pain hit Sasuke's shoulder and he let out a yell of pain as the bullet hit his upper arm. The pain was excruciating to say the least and as he grasped his arm he felt warm blood seeping through his sleeve. "Shit!" he growled. His vision began to blur completely and he couldn't even comprehend what was going on as his head pounded continuously.

He looked up through his haze to see the woman then aim her gun at the fire alarm situated near the door. Instantaneously the bullet shattered the glass and the ear-piercing alarm went off.

The lithe woman put the gun back in the folds of her clothes and stared down at him, her expression a mix of regret and distaste. She dropped down to her knees and examined his wound. "I'm sorry." She muttered in a low tone, her fake French accent still coated her words thickly. "It had to be done…" she trailed off regretfully as she took a piece of linen and covered the wound.

Sasuke recoiled backwards and let out feral growl, "Don't touch me!" he muttered sullenly. Why would she shoot him and then lean down to help him? He asked himself in bewilderment. The fire alarm continued to let out a wailing alarm.

Her eyes were wide with hurt but she seemed to remember where she was and she stood up abruptly, "You'll be fine." She stated shortly. "The wound wasn't that deep. The worse you'll need is a blood transfusion." She hesitated for a moment, her eyes conflicted. "Stay out of this." She whispered softly her voice trembling.

Sasuke glared at her, "Says the woman who just shot my arm." He replied dryly.

The woman's voice dropped and she let out a pleading tone, "I'm serious. I might have to kill you if you try to interfere-if we meet again." She insisted with a sharp nod of her head.

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but was quieted by an impetuous wave of her hand. She motioned for him to be quiet.

Loud footsteps could be heard thudding up the stairs and she turned to him swiftly, "Just say you're an associate of Akihiko. It'll distract them long enough for you to evade them." She advised. "Next time, you won't be so lucky." She proceeded to grab the nearby fire extinguisher and break open the hotel suite window.

Sasuke's hands sticky with blood found his gun and he grasped a hold of it. There was no way that she was going to humiliate him like this. He let out a little pant of exertion and managed to cock it and aim in the direction of the woman. "Who are you?" he hissed. "Answer or I'll shoot." He threatened. Shakily, he stood up and advanced towards her till he was so close that he could smell her perfume. A rosy, subtle scent that lingered in the air.

The woman drew back and opened her mouth just as the door slammed open and security came running through the door. Smirking she drew herself upwards to whisper into his ear seductively, "Kiri." She answered simply.

The chief security officer barked, "Put down your weapons!" he held up his own gun in a clumsy, inexperienced manner.

She winked, "Remember what I said!" she reminded in a more playful manner than before.

With that, she arched her body and kicking her legs over, she managed a perfect backflip out the broken window, into the dark night. The security officer let out a surprised cry and rushed to the window, pushing Sasuke aside. He nervously glanced down but he could see nothing. "Damn it." He growled frustrated. "What were you two up to? Do you have a permit for those guns? Put him in some handcuffs and take him down to the station?" he ordered and turned around only to see his men all knocked unconscious on the floor and the mysterious man nowhere to be seen.

**A while later…**

Sakura hopped down from the thick rope she had prepared earlier. It now swung lonely from side to side and she grasped a hold of it and yanked, pulling it down and into a pile of twine at her feet. She rubbed her hands together, cringing slightly in pain; the rope had given her a mild burn.

The hotel had planted numerous trees and branches around the perimeter which now concealed her presence. She tore off the flimsy maid costume as she had a short black skirt underneath and a graphic tank top tucked in to the skirt. She removed her blonde wig revealing her pink long hair. Grabbing her hair tie she swiftly tied her hair into a chic bun. Bundling up her disguise she threw it into a nearby bush. Even if it was discovered, there was no way it could be traced back to her.

She smiled in relief at how well she had dealt with the situation. She had had to shoot him but in the end, she hadn't taken his life and that was what had mattered. A shiver traveled down her spine as she recalled the look he had given her. Pure menace. She shook her head trying to shake off the negative feelings. He would be fine, the wound had not been that deep, and she had angled it just right to make sure that he wouldn't lose that much blood. And she did what had to be done. In order to preserve her cover and keep her moral values at hand. She let out a sharp hiss and let out a frustrated oath. She took out her phone and began dialing Ino's number.

Ino picked up after the second ring. "Hello, Forehead!" she sang out.

"Hey, PIG. Look, I'm really sorry but I have to work late today. I need to finish up some stuff so you can't come over like we planned. Definitely tomorrow though." She chewed her bottom lip.

Ino let out a surprised sound, "Oh! That's fine! I've been meaning to call you but, you things have been quite busy around here and so I won't be able to make it anyways. This crazy old guy just walked in and he was mumbling something about this fancy shmancy hotel…the Red Dragon Hotel, have you heard of it?" she asked eagerly.

Sakura's heart stopped. The old security man. It couldn't be. "T-the Red Dragon Hotel, yeah I've seen it what about it?" she replied with a bit of nervousness.

"Mmhmm. So anyways, this guy starts telling us about this maid jumping out a window…it's crazy. But, we have to check it out and look for any evidence or whatever." Ino let out an exasperated sigh.

Sakura's hand trembled and she struggled to form a coherent sentence, "T-t-that's ridiculous." She nervously laughed. "Well, I got to go. I'll call you back later."

"Yeah? You sound a bit shaky there, are you okay?" Ino asked with concern.

Sakura answered with a little choked sound and then hung up. There was nothing there that could possibly incriminate her yet it was Ino! What if she had forgotten something at the hotel that could leave her in trouble! She grasped the hairs of her head in frustration, damn it, damn it! She growled and dialed furiously once more.

This time the person picked up almost immediately, "Hello?"

"Shino, It's slug…I-I'm pretty sure that I left nothing that could trace back to me. I left a couple of disguises but I want to be sure, absolute sure. However, the police know me-"

Shino cut in sharply, "They saw you?" he asked incredulously.

Sakura nodded insistently, "No! Damnit do you think I'm that stupid! Listen to me! All I want you to do is just stay there and look out for anything that could lead back to me. Prevent any situations from happening. Please don't tell Anko about this!" she pleaded.

The line was silent for a second and Sakura held her breath almost half expecting Anko's voice to sound in her ears. "Fine." Shino rasped irritably. "You owe me Haruno."

Sakura let out a huge sigh, "My god, thank you Shino! Please, don't hurt anybody! I just-I just need you to make sure that they don't find anything incriminating."

Shino chuckled, "I'll try not to." The phone line went dead.

**Tokyo PD, downtown Tokyo**

**8:48 PM**

"So let me get this straight. A hotel maid _jumped_ out the window?" Ino asked dubiously, her blue eyes narrowed in disbelief.

Sai chuckled beside her, "Would love to visit that hotel." He murmured under his breath. She glanced over at her partner who wore a navy blue button down and a black tie.

Ino rolled her eyes and jabbed him in the stomach, "Shut up." She growled. Ino turned her attention to the security officer who looked indignant. He was a stout man in his mid-60's and had uneven scruff along his chin and extremely awkward looking bushy sideburns. He had called in an incident at the Red Dragon Hotel and made so many absurd claims that Ino didn't know whether to laugh in his face or just look at him in astonishment. It was late and she wanted to be back at Sakura's apartment snuggled up with a bottle of champagne and dark chocolates. She sighed wistfully and grudgingly continued to listen to the old man's tale.

"I'm telling ya! I walk in the fancy hotel suite and I see a young couple. A man who I didn't really look at, he was wearing all black and had dark hair…maybe brown…or was it black? I can't recall. Anyways I remember the maid though really well 'cause she was facing me. She was wearing a maid costume! One of those frilly ones! She had blonde hair and wore these thick glasses. And they continue to talk while I told them 'Put DOWN your guns!' but they just go right ahead and ignore me. They ignore me! Those little kids just go right ahead don't even pay attention to me! They ignored me!" he ranted angrily, his face turning a shade of puce.

Sai nodded and pretended to scribble notes down, "Right, they ignored you, anything else?" he asked with a slight grin on his pale face.

"Ah! Yes…anyways. I'm not lying! The maid flips backwards and she propels herself out the window! I ne'er seen anything like it! She just woosh! And flies out…it's incredible…I'm telling ya." He muttered more to himself than the two police.

A vibration came from Ino's pocket and she held up a finger, "Hold that thought. It's Lee." She slid her phone open, "Any news?" she asked sharply.

She heard Lee's eager voice loud and clear, "Ino! You'll never guess what I found! I found in the elevator vent a kimono and wig! It seems our perpetrator was a master of disguise!" he shouted triumphantly. "Gai-san will be so proud of me! I finally met his expectations! I expect we should celebrate, no?"

Ino cringed and pulled the cell phone away slightly, "I can hear you just fine. No need to yell!" she rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I need you to do something for me. You know how Naruto found that maître d's body? I think that the perpetrator took the maître 'd's place. I need you to ask around and see if anybody caught a good look at the imposter. Got it?"

"Hai! Ino-chan! I will let the POWER OF YOUTH GUIDE—"

Ino slid her phone close before she went deaf from Lee's constant excitement. She looked up and spoke to Sai, "Lee found the imposter's disguise. I guess that's some progress." She murmured. "And-uh-if there's any truth to what this man said. We should check out the area underneath Akihiko's room. And see if we can find anything. A body or escape route."

Sai nodded and stood up from his place, "Got it. I'll meet Naruto at the hotel then. You can stay with this guy then." He pulled out his phone and began dialing a number.

Ino looked curiously, "Who are you calling? Tsunade-sama? She doesn't want to be bothered at this hour." She smoothed out her fuchsia colored blouse and dusted off the front of her black dress pants.

Sai waved a careless hand, "I know…I know. Just calling an old buddy of mine that's good with crime scenes." He had a little smirk on his face as he spoke.

Ino raised an eyebrow, "You have friends? Who knew?" she muttered.

Sai chose to ignore her scathing remark and put on a cheery smile as he greeted the person on the other line, "Temari-san! I was hoping that you could help me with something…"

Temari's bored voice came over, "What? I'm kind of beating Kankuro's ass in Monopoly. Can it wait?" she asked irritably.

Sai smirked, "Well, we just had a case, a rather odd one indeed. There was an incident down at the Red Dragon Hotel. A maid jumped out the window, the hotel room guest won't talk at all. I was hoping we could use your special skills to loosen his lips."

There was a pause on the other line, "Count me in." Ino could just imagine the woman grinning maliciously and rubbing her hands together.

Sai smiled, pleased at her decision. "Good. I knew we could count on you."

**Red Dragon Hotel **

**9:14 PM**

Shino examined the scene below him as he stood ready with his Winchester Magnum, his favorite sniper rifle. He prided himself on his ability to shoot from hundreds of meters away accurately making him Kurokage's top sniper. He leaned back tiredly and let out a tired groan. Why was he even here? Sakura hardly ever messed up and now she suddenly felt uncertain about her actions. He had decided not to inform Anko. There was no reason too. It wasn't as if he was betraying the organization, his actions were the exact opposite. It was just because if Anko found out that they were retracing their steps she would blow a gasket. He remembered grimly what happened to the last recruit that did. After all, he was the one that had to clean up the mess.

Shino was situated at a building across from the Red Dragon Hotel and from his position on the balcony; he could see Akihiko's room right across. He spotted yellow caution tape wound all over the room and several policemen swarming around the suite.

He was about to just get up and leave from the lack of activity when he spotted another person entering the room. It was a strikingly beautiful woman with blonde hair pulled back from her jawline. She wore dark shades that concealed her upper face and her lip was pulled back in a look of triumph. None of that really caught his attention as he was drawn to her clothing. In particular, three letters etched onto her vest. They were unmistakable, glowing white in the night. F. B. I.

He let out a growl, FBI? He had thought that the FBI was only engaged in the routine checkups on the corporations, not full on cases that the Tokyo PD had to deal with. He closed his eyes and forced himself to think. The FBI was trained to see through their tactics after Kurokage had pulled one over the FBI in America a few years back. It was quite possible that they were looking to sniff out other crime rings beside Akatsuki. He nodded; there was only one way to deal with this. The way Anko had instructed him.

* * *

Temari examined the shards on the floor and shook her head, "There's not much I can tell from this." She replied in slight frustration. She looked up just as her red haired brother walked in, "What about you, Gaara? Find anything?"

Her brother looked up at her with sleepy eyes and ran a hand through his tousled hair, "Nothing. I asked Yamanaka and she came up with nothing as well." He paced around the room agitated, there was something bugging him what was it?

Temari noticed his irritation and smirked, "Your sixth sense, again?" it was a joke between the siblings that Gaara could always tell when something was wrong. She didn't take it quite seriously.

Gaara nodded, bobbing his head up and down. "Yeah." He muttered. He tried to find what was bugging him. Nothing seemed quite right. Could it have been just a false alarm? It was then that he saw it. A red laser point, on the back of Temari's head that stood out quite clearly in front of her blonde hair.

Gaara let out a furious growl, "Temari, get down!"

She turned around in confusion, "What do—" she was cut off as Gaara violently pushed her down on the floor. And then a bang. Gaara's weight fell upon her. Temari's eyes widened in horror and she got up instantaneously and saw the bullet hole on the glass window. She yanked out her walkie talkie, "All stations! Get down to the building across, 16th floor! There is a sniper on the move! Now!" she screeched into the phone.

She placed Gaara on the floor gently and removed his vest, "Damn it!" she muttered. A few policeman stood by looking down in concern and she rebuked them, "Don't just stand there! Call the paramedics!" she roared angrily.

Gaara's eyes fluttered open weakly, "Temari. Calm down. The vest—absorbed most of the impact." He coughed and then struggle to sit up, his chest heaving.

Temari pushed him back down, "Don't worry, they're going to get the goddamn sniper." She said reassuringly. "How did you know?" she asked curiously.

Gaara chuckled weakly, "I—I saw the laser dot, he was aiming straight at your head." He coughed again.

Temari let out a breath, "Well, thank god you did. Shit! We should have secured the parameter." She mentally scolded herself for not putting up the right precautions.

Ino walked in just then, breathless, "Oh my god! Gaara are you fine?" she asked with intense shock and bewilderment. The sniper got away…" she trailed off fretfully, "They were pursuing him but he planted an explosive. One of our men was severely burned but no other injuries. I'm sorry Gaara-san." She apologized.

Gaara shook his head, "Its fine. Nobody could have anticipated that. No one would have seen him anyways." he lay there silently, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Temari growled, "Trust me. If I hadn't been stupid, this could have been preventable."

A beeping came from Ino's pocket and she held up a finger, "I'm so sorry, I have to take this. It's Naruto-kun." She left the room and sneaking around the other policemen she found a secluded spot behind one of the hallways.

She slid her phone open. "Naruto, it's me. I found something. I didn't tell them because I thought you should now ahead of time. I found something of Sasuke's.

"He was at the crime scene."

* * *

**A/N: Hello! WOWEE it's been a while…gosh I sincerely apologize for not updating soon enough! It's been hectic but I love this story too much to neglect !**

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH TO ALL YOU REVIEWE, STORY ALERTED, and FAVORITED! IT MEANS SO DARN MUCH TO ME! :DD I have smiles on my face! **

**Please tell me what you think and be sure to check out my POLLS and the PICS that I have up on profile. I didn't draw these, keep that in mind! I just want to share these genius' artwork with you guys! These PICS are for LETHAL LOVE they're how I sort of imagined them so enjoy!**

**ALSO REVIEW…pwease? If i get 10 more reviews i'll update :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Tangled Webs**

**Red Dragon Hotel, Rika District**

**9:21 PM**

Sai strolled into Akihiko's damaged hotel room and looked around briefly for any sign of his blonde partner. He saw Gaara who was sitting upright on a stretcher and irritably shooing away the bumbling paramedics. Sai walked over and saw bruised patches all along his chest, "Ouch. You all right, man?"

Gaara grimaced and shrugged, "That bulletproof vest is probably why I'm still here. It was a pretty powerful gun by the looks of it. It still managed to a good bit of damage even with the vest."

Sai nodded, "Have they caught him?"

The red-haired agent scowled, "No. But trust me, it won't stay like that." He murmured darkly.

Sai chuckled knowing that Gaara would make good on his threat, "I hear you. Do you by chance know where Ino pranced off too? I haven't seen her recently and we need to head back."

Gaara shook his head, "Sorry, I just saw her for a second when she came in after I was just shot. I really wasn't paying attention after that. Ask Temari though, she might know." He gestured over his shoulder and pointed to his sister.

Sai glanced over and nodded, "Thanks, get better." He walked over to the tough-talking agent who was currently on the phone pacing around. Her back was facing him so she hadn't heard him approach. He was about to interrupt her conversation when he saw Temari trying to calm down but she was obviously enraged. Curious, he stepped closer without a sound.

"I'm telling you to be more careful! This isn't like you to slip up." She hissed, biting her lip, trying to keep from growling.

Sai's ears pricked up. Who was she talking to?

"Gaara is _fine_, no thanks to you." She snarled. Temari paused, listening to the person on the other line, "There are no exceptions." She stated coldly. "If you make another mistake it'll be fatal for all of us." Her jaw clenched. "Goodbye." She snapped the phone shut violently and turned on her heels only to smack into Sai.

"Ah! Sai-san!" she was obviously flustered and dropped her phone that she was holding. She stooped down and hastily picked it up.

Sai's eyebrow went up, "Who was that you were on the phone with? Sounded like a pretty heated conversation."

She paled but regained her composure, "Hmph. It's not very polite to eavesdrop." She answered coolly.

Sai held up his hands, "Just curious. No need to get all defensive." He smirked.

Temari rolled her eyes and bit her lip, "It was just Kankuro, I was mad at him for not putting up the extra parameters. Because, of that Gaara was hit by that goddamn sniper." She growled angrily. Her eyes shifted nervously towards the door as if she wanted nothing more than to leave.

He nodded but studied her uneasy expression with suspicion, "Yeah, don't be too harsh on him. None of us could have prepared for that attack." He tried to reason.

She nodded and then muttered a small 'thanks' before shoving past him. Temari walked briskly past her brother and out the door, her eyes deep in thought.

Ino came in right as Temari left and stood to the side allowing Temari by. She walked up to Sai and rolled her eyes, "What was up with her? You do something to her?" she joked, her blue eyes sparkling.

Sai looked after her with nothing but seriousness and then shrugged, "Where were you by the way? I was looking for you. I just saw you leave while talking on the phone. Was it Naruto?" he probed.

Ino replied hastily, "Yeah it was. He just wanted a report. That's it. Are we ready to go now?" she asked already shifting towards the door.

He chuckled, "You in a hurry? Let me get the keys." He surveyed the room and let out a groan, "Damn. Things are going to get messy." he walked off leaving Ino alone.

She crossed her arms and muttered to herself, "You have _no_ idea."

**Uchiha Corporations, Level 5**

**9:34 PM**

Sasuke pushed open the doors to Akatsuki's hideout with an arrogant air. No way was he going to act weak after being beat down by an enemy agent. He was scared and he hated to admit that. Madara would be displeased with him. He had never failed a mission and yet…tonight was an exception. Madara had terrorized him when he had been a kid. Itachi had defended him back then and now, Itachi was gone. He grimaced in slight pain as his shoulder throbbed. He made his way down the steps and to his displeasure saw Sayuki sitting on a bench in the hallway with her long leans crossed in a dainty manner.

Gritting his teeth he let out a sullen hello. It wasn't like he hated Sayuki, in fact she was one of the few people he didn't mind being around. However, if she saw his wound, he knew that she would go into her mother mode and begin to worry profusely.

Sayuki glanced up and then let out a very audible gasp and dropped the fashion magazine she had been reading. "Sasuke, what happened?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, she was so predictable. "Nothing." He said gruffly, "I just got careless."

Sayuki tsked, "You're lucky that it's a very shallow wound. It's nothing fatal." She stated, examining the wound. "

"Like I said, I was just careless." He brushed her aside and scowled angrily.

Sayuki let out another tortured groan, "Please don't tell me you failed this. Madara won't be-"

"I won't be what?" A low voice came from behind. Sasuke paled and Sayuki let out a hiss and turned around to face her superior. Madara's long spiky hair hung in greasy locks and his silk suit was rumpled. "Finish your sentence Sayuki."

Sayuki plastered on a fake smile, "You won't be pleased. You're never pleased when people fail missions. I do not speak out of line when I say this, do I?" she asked in a sugar sweet tone.

Madara shook his head, "Of course not, Sayuki. Please leave Sasuke and I. I have some things to discuss with him."

Sayuki grew panicked, what if Madara hurt him in any way? Itachi would be furious, he would kill Madara. She tried to patch the situation, "Madara, please. Sasuke hadn't been on a mission for such a long time, it's natural for him to not do as well on this one." She pleaded.

"Leave." He commanded icily, his eyes never leaving Sasuke. Sasuke turned to the silver-haired lady and motioned for her to leave. He could handle this, he didn't need a babysitter.

Sayuki turned reluctantly to go and walked slowly out the door. "As you wish Madara-san." She walked out of the door without a glance backwards.

As soon as the door slammed close, Sasuke turned to Madara, "What are you going to do to me?" he asked hollowly. "Are you going to have me cancelled?" 'Cancelled' referred to Akatsuki's way of disposing of inferior agents.

Madara looked at Sasuke in shock, "My boy, I don't just cancel people because they make mistakes." He chuckled slowly. "I heard from one of the backup agents that you failed to kill Akihiko."

Sasuke just stood there, stone faced. "It's true. Some complications got in the way. You know your enemy Anko, she sent an agent." He spoke in an embittered voice.

Madara's left eyebrow cocked upwards, "Anko? She must still be angry about that incident…" he trailed off.

The onyx haired man's curiosity got the better of him, "What incident?" he inquired.

Madara smirked, "I double crossed her on a minor business deal. I should have known better of course, when she gets irritated, she gets irritated." He straightened his suit out. "Did you see the agent clearly?"

Sasuke hesitated, should he tell Madara everything? The girl, Kiri hadn't killed him, even though she had the opportunity to. Something about her was so familiar and there were warning bells going off in his head. "No. I didn't." he lied as he pictured her in his head quite vividly. Her wide eyes and long blonde hair seemed to be burned into his mind. "I just saw a flash of blonde hair during our little tussle. She pulled out a gun, right before she left and shot." Sasuke pointed to his shoulder wound carelessly.

The older man was deep in thought, "Huh. Well, I'll be sure to contact Anko. I'm sure that she sent one of her best agents in order to sabotage the mission." He narrowed his eyes, "Regardless, I expect you to never fail me again." He spoke severely.

Sasuke nodded, keeping his head down. "Understood."

Madara smiled in satisfaction, "Good. You may leave. I expect you back at work for appearances tomorrow." The man straightened up and left the room silently.

Sasuke let out a loud breath. Shit. Had he just lied to Madara? The man that had scared him since he had been a little kid with Itachi? His eyes darkened at the thought of Itachi. His brother that left him in the clutches of Madara. He hit the wall behind in frustration. Closing his eyes he tiredly thought, _tomorrow's going to be a long day._

**Uchiha Corporations**

**8:49 PM**

Sakura stood in front of Sasuke's office. Her feet wouldn't budge. She urged them on and then sighed in defeat. Why was she being such a baby? There was no way he could have recognized her. No way. She had used a French accent, worn a wig and a mole. Still, she gritted her teeth together, Damnit. Her hand twitched towards the door handle and then lay still on the metal surface. To open or to not, that is the question. She mused. Taking a deep breath she pulled down and then pushed the door open.

Sasuke was sitting on his desk looking over his documents. A flood of warmth immersed her body as she saw him and a little queasiness filled her stomach as she saw his wounded shoulder. "S-Sasuke-san how was your day off?" she asked pleasantly.

He looked up and smirked at the sight of her, "Boring. As usual." He answered casually. Sakura nodded, afraid to ask further questions. He got up from the desk to stand closer to her. "And how was yours?"

Sakura blushed, "Fine. It was—productive." He was way too close for comfort and was making her head all clouded. She pretended to glance down and see his wound for the first time, "Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked with concern.

Sasuke shrugged, "It's just a careless wound. The doctor I should be fine in no time."

Sakura shook her head, "No really, let me see it. I've had some experience in nursing." She had to make sure he was really okay. She could never live it down if her aim had been off and she had really damaged a vital point.

He had an amused grin, "Nursing, huh? That wasn't on your resume either." He teased.

She smiled, "I have a lot of hidden talents." He obliged and took of his suit jacket so that she could see the bandaging on his shoulder,

"See for yourself. I'm fine."

Sakura looked and she had to admit that the wound was indeed fine. She let out a huge sigh of relief, thank god. "Yeah, it looks fine." She glanced over at the huge stacks of paperwork, "I don't think you should overwork your arm though." She advised.

Sasuke's eyebrow quirked upwards, "You know that if I don't do that, I'll just have to hand over all that paperwork to you, right?"

Sakura frowned at the thought of that, "On second thought. I think your arm is fine." She joked back.

Sasuke gave her a wry smile, "I thought so." He put back on his jacket suit and saw that his phone was vibrating on his desk. "Let me get this real quick, it's Naruto." He rolled his eyes, "Probably some stupid thing he wants to tell me."

Sakura grinned, "Why is it that Naruto is always the one interrupting?" she asked.

Sasuke smirked and slid the phone open. "Make it quick dobe."

Naruto's cold voice came over the speaker, "Sasuke, you need to come down to the station." He demanded stiffly.

Sasuke frowned, confused. "Why? Is something wrong? Is Ino fine?" there was silence on the other end and he heard the phone being passed to another person. "Hello? Naruto, is this a joke?"

"That's what we were wondering. If this is all some sick joke." Ino's voice was strangled, her voice bordering between hysterical and furious.

"Look, Ino, calm down. What's going on?" He shrugged as Sakura sent him a 'what's going on?' look.

"You're wanted by the Tokyo Police Department." Sasuke's blood ran cold and Ino continued,

"Evidence points to you being our number one suspect in the Akihiko case, Tsunade wants you interrogated ASAP." Her voice sounded hollow.

His voice shook, "I-Ino, what evidence? Ino, just stop messing around. This isn't funny." His mind was screeching in denial. What had he left behind to incriminate himself?

Ino let out a bitter laugh, "This isn't a joke, Sasuke. If you're not at the station fast enough, they'll be a squad to _personally_ escort you there."

With a short click, the line went dead.

**A/N: so this is chapter 13, I hope all of you guys enjoyed it. :) Unfortunately, I think that there hasn't been much response to this chapter so I'm worried that there are not a lot of people that support this so I might discontinue this story. MIGHT, I just don't think there's a lot of people out there reading this :( So if you still like reading this chapter, PLEASE let me know because I would really like to know if you enjoy this story. **

**Anyways, off that depressing note. Thanks to all of you who DID review, story alert and favorited. MEANS A LOT TO MEE! **

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Reformed and Redeemed **

**Tokyo Police Department, interrogation room B**

**9:14 AM**

Sasuke looked up at his interrogators' faces. Naruto sat slumped onto the chair across him. His eyes were dull with the pain of betrayal. Ino, to the right of Naruto stood upright with a calm, stoic face. She looked at Sasuke with sharp eyes, never betraying any emotion of any kind. Sasuke didn't know how things had ended up this way. He had left behind evidence; he had jeopardized all his friendships and relationships. He had just signed his one-way ticket to a death sentence. His lip curled upwards at the irony of everything. At how he had just sat back in comfort and luxury days ago and now, he saw how messed up things were now.

Ino leaned forward, placing her elbows on the desk, "Why did you do it?" she asked, her voice hard with anger. "You can't even begin to imagine my shock when I recognized your watch at the scene of crime. The silver worn watch that you said your dad gave you." She paused, "How could you?"

Sasuke let out a bitter laugh, "Please, Ino. Spare me. I don't take the holier-than-thou act. It's sickening." He snarled. His chest ached as he spat out the words. He really wanted to tell her he was sorry, but he didn't want to tell her about Akatsuki. If she found out, Madara's attention would be placed on her.

Ino flinched at his harsh words but she kept her cool, "Fine." She hissed out. "Let me say what's on my mind then. I'm hurt." Her voice cracked painfully. "I'm hurt because I have to do this. Do you think I enjoy having to bring in my best friend?" she demanded hysterically, "Do you think that I want to be in this position where I have to choose you or the law?" her fists clenched together, "I just want you to tell me. Where did we mess up? Weren't we friends? Didn't you trust me enough to tell me things?" she whispered.

Sasuke almost broke down right then and there. He forced it in and sucked all the emotion back in. Shit. Why was she making this so damn difficult, couldn't she see that even if he had told her, she couldn't have helped him? "Shut up." Was all he could muster.

Naruto stood up and slammed his fist on the table making Ino jump. "Teme." His voice was low. "We've been friends since childhood. I don't believe that you did anything out of spite. I know you." He continued in strong voice. "You're not weak, Sasuke. You wouldn't fall that low. You have us to fall on. I know that maybe you got mixed up into something bad, but please remember that we're your friends. We can help you." He pleaded.

Sasuke snapped, "It's nothing that you would understand! And it's not as simple as you always make it out to be Naruto. Yes, I did get into something illegal. I did!" he admitted with conviction. "But what the hell makes you think that i could have told my friends, especially you two! You two law-abiding citizens!" he sneered.

Ino looked furious and hurt while Naruto's expression remained calm. Ino spoke, her voice was strained. "Sasuke, we've all made mistakes and it's not too late to reverse them." She whispered.

The regretful man shook his head, "Not mine."

Realization struck Naruto, "A-are you with Akatsuki, Sasuke?" his voice was barely a whisper. He was hesitant to even suggest the idea.

Sasuke closed his eyes in defeat. He was silent for a moment and then nodded.

Ino's eyes went wide with betrayal. She murmured, "What happened?"

The onyx haired man, pursed his lips and then began, "Madara, my uncle. He's the head of Akatsuki and he started it within Uchiha Corporations. A lot of people were against this idea, especially my parents, but he went along with this idea anyways. He started recruiting people, offering them money and power. He managed to corrupt the company over the course of a single year. My parents were losing grip of the company and by then, it was like Madara practically owned the company and shoved my parents away. Of course, they didn't dare report the illegal activities; they didn't want to tarnish the Uchiha name. My parents were very proud and didn't want to admit what was going on." He paused while Ino and Naruto remained silent, listening. "You remember my brother Itachi. He eventually fell into Madara's empire and joined Akatsuki. I rarely saw him after that. And then my parents abandoned the entire company and just sat off to the side. I was left to take charge of the business. Madara came to me one day, he took advantage of my anger and offered me a job." He hesitated. "I'm not proud of the things that I've done." His voice shook. "But the job included having to get rid of some people. After a couple of years, I decided to get out of Akatsuki. I had told Tenten about what was going on, or rather she forced me to." He chuckled, "So I did. She wasn't disgusted much to my surprise and she was rather empathetic. With her encouraging, I told Madara that I was done with the corruptness. He just laughed at me." Sasuke's eyes were dull as he recalled the memory. "He's left me alone for now and I thought I was safe but a few days ago. He assigned me to kill Akihiko. I couldn't do it." He whispered. "I just couldn't. The guilt was clawing at me and eventually, I ran."

Tears were dripping off of Ino's face and she tried to calm herself down, "Sasuke." She tried to continue but couldn't. Naruto was silent but got up to stand next to Sasuke. He swung his fist and punched Sasuke square in the jaw. Ino let out a little whimper, "Naruto!" Sasuke didn't try to dodge the punch. He knew he deserved it and more.

Naruto growled, "I'm angrier at the fact that you told Tenten before me." He stated gruffly.

Sasuke looked up, shocked. "Naruto?"

Naruto continued, ranting on, "I mean come on. Does our 20 something years of friendship mean nothing to you. So you killed people, so what? It was something that happened while you were weak in the head, Sasuke. I'm angry at the fact that you couldn't tell me!" his eyes flashed with some humor.

Sasuke was confused, "I don't think you understand, Naruto. I killed people. True, they weren't innocent and were corrupt business men but I still killed them. I'm going to jail, you sent in the evidence that will convict me." He frowned.

Ino shook her head, "Actually we didn't. I wanted to talk to you before I told anybody." She smiled sheepishly. She put her hand over his hand. "Sasuke, don't worry. Naruto and I wanted to believe that you didn't do something illegally just out of spite. We knew there had to be some circumstance that forced you to do what you did. That's why we came up with a solution." She smiled.

Sasuke was even more confused. They should not be smiling at him. They should be yelling at him and handcuffing him. Did they not understand he had done horrible things? And what was their solution? "What's the plan?" he asked with curiosity.

Naruto grinned. "Easy. You become our double agent."

Sasuke nodded and then paused, "Wait, what? You want me, to be a mole?" he asked with incredulity.

Ino nodded, "I figured that this is a good way to fix everything you've done wrong. You can help us bring down Madara." She stated with absolute confidence.

Sasuke smirked, "What genius came up with this plan? I'm up for destroying the man that tore apart my family." He replied with a clenched jaw.

Naruto nodded with satisfaction, "I knew it teme! This is SO cool like James Bond, right? We can meet in dark alleys and have covert ways of communication!" his eyes gleamed with excitement.

Ino snorted but smiled as she too, was excited. "It's official then, as of right now, we work together today. Our goal: to bring down Akatsuki."

**Meanwhile…outside of the interrogation room….**

Temari stood in the lobby of the Tokyo Police Department while a stammering secretary tried to explain to her that she couldn't talk to Naruto Uzumaki. Apparently he was busy with a prior engagement and his lieutenant was with him, so she couldn't speak to her as well. Well that was just damn great, she thought darkly. She turned to the blue-haired secretary and asked as sweetly as she could, "Excuse me, what was your name again?"

The lady was visibly flustered, "Ah-Hinata Hyuuga."

Temari smiled, "Yes, Hinata. You seem to be a very diligent secretary."

Hinata blushed and ducked her head, "Th-thank you."

"And being the diligent, obedient secretary that you are, you're very strict on rules, correct?" Temari continued on without waiting for an answer and pulled out her FBI badge. "I don't think you understand what this means. It means you better get Uzumaki out so I can talk to him or I just go in there myself." Temari tilted her head and smiled, "Are we clear here?"

Hinata flinched at her words, "I-I'm terribly sorry. I know that you're a very high-ranking FBI agent and all, but, I have strict orders from him not to let anybody in." she insisted.

Temari growled. She didn't have time for this. She had to meet somebody very soon and she needed to meet with Naruto to see if he had any more information on the sniper that had shot her brother. "Look-"

"Is there a problem here?" a puzzled voice broke in. "Temari is that you?"

Temari recognized the voice as Naruto's. She turned to face Naruto, Ino, and wait…was that Sasuke Uchiha? Naruto had a mischievous grin on his face while Ino kept a smirk on her face and Sasuke looked weary but relieved.

Hinata smiled as she caught sight of her boyfriend, "Naruto-kun, this lady has insisted to talk to you; she has something rather urgent to speak to you about."

The blonde FBI agent sniffed, "I've been here quite a while. Your secretary," she jabbed a thumb in Hinata's direction, "managed to stall me.

Naruto's expression sobered. "Huh. Well, I told her to keep anybody out for a reason." He spoke tersely. "I was busy."

Temari narrowed her eyes, "With Uchiha over here?"

Sasuke glared at her, "Lay off Sabaku." No way was she going to know about his past or his present alliance. He didn't trust the lady one bit.

Temari put up her hands defensively, "Fine." She stated coolly, "I'm just a bit curious as to why speaking with Uchiha is prioritized above finding who was the sniper that shot Gaara." She shrugged. "That's all."

Ino snapped at Temari, "We have over half the department working on that case, Temari. Just because only two of us are not at the present moment working on that case, does NOT mean that we're slacking." She half snarled.

Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. He spoke up with a smirk still on his face, "They're a security breach down at my company. I was just speaking to them about some precautions." He stated casually.

Temari snorted, "Again, company security precautions? Over finding out the sniper's identity? Was your talk with Uchiha so important that nobody could disturb him?" she asked accusingly.

Naruto's jaw clenched and he hissed out, "What we do is not in your jurisdiction. You work for the FBI; I work for the Tokyo PD. As far as I'm concerned you have no place in what we do or don't do righty away. Sasuke's in an old friend, so I decided to give him five minutes of my time to help him. Since when is that illegal?"

She held up her head haughtily, "Watch your self Uzumaki. You forget that we have the bigger guns. Figuratively and literally speaking." She shot him a smug look and then slapped down a piece of paper on the secretary's desk. Hinata jumped in surprise. "If you have any new information, inform me immediately. I expect to be in touch soon." She replied calmly and then turned to stroll out of the police station. There was something going on that she was going to find out. But right now, she had something more urgent that she needed to attend to.

Whatever Sasuke did was of little importance, she had much bigger targets in mind.

**24****th**** Street, outskirts of Tokyo**

**10:34 AM**

Itachi shivered as the bitter wind nipped at his skin. He mentally slapped himself for not remembering to bring an overcoat of some sort. Gazing around the hill he was perched upon he looked down on all the factories and companies. He observed the skyscrapers just inches short of the clouds. He shook his head; all these businesses that supposedly kept the world running with trade were all corrupt. It was a sad truth to know that the world ran on corruption, it thrived everywhere. He tried to shake himself out of his depressing thoughts as he heard footsteps approaching behind him.

He spoke first, "You're a little late aren't you? We agreed on 10:30." He turned around to face his acquaintance.

Temari growled at him, "Lay off would you? I was trying to gather information when I was detained by a complication that was caused by your brother."

Itachi was taken aback, "Sasuke? What was he doing at the police station?"

Temari shrugged, "He was speaking to Uzumaki and Yamanaka. Apparently they were discussing security precautions for the company. I don't believe it one bit." She said with conviction.

The man's eyes flashed with anger, "Even if I'm in this, he isn't. I don't want you digging into anything concerning him. Leave. Him. Alone." He hissed.

Temari rolled her eyes, "Sheesh. I swear, Uchiha's must always wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I was just saying that it sounded fishy. Nothing more." She let out a little giggle.

Itachi frowned, "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"I find it funny that you're always so protective over him when he practically hates your guts. He thinks that you're knee-deep in Akatsuki and doesn't think you give a rat's ass about him. When really, all you do 24/7 is to protect him." She shrugged, "It's ironic actually."

Itachi spoke dryly, "Yes, I find that ironic and hilarious as well. Can we get off the topic of my little brother?"

Temari nodded, "Fine with me. But what I really want to know is that sniper that shot Gaara, was he Akatsuki?" she asked with anger evident in her blue eyes.

Itachi shook his head, "Nope. Madara believes that it was an operative from Kurokage." He pulled out a USB from his shirt pocket. "That contains evidence from Operation Swan that was pulled off in America. Operation Swan was a successful assassination on Senator Reed that was orchestrated by Madara in order to get another senator in power that would fit his needs. According to the files, the assassin still lives in America. You'll be able to get him based on the location the files provide."

Temari took the files with a satisfied smile. "Good work and still, Madara knows nothing about your true allegiance with the FBI?" she asked.

Itachi nodded, "He has no idea. He still trusts me completely. It helps that his most trusted advisor is Sayuki. She covers a lot for me." He smiled at the thought of her.

The blonde narrowed her eyes, "Sayuki." She spoke in a distrustful manner, "Are you positive that we can trust her? Her original allegiance is with Akatsuki but suddenly she is helping you get information for us? I don't like it." She spoke bluntly.

Itachi growled at Temari's distrust. "Have you ever known me to make a mistake? She originally did not agree with Madara's views as well. She sees this as a way to get back at Madara for putting her in this hell hole. Trust me, when I say that she can be trusted."

Temari snorted, "Calm down. I merely say this because just recently when of our own operatives was careless and endangered a life. I don't want anything ELSE messing up. This is the closest we've ever been to bringing down Madara and I don't intend to mess it up."

Itachi smirked, "Good we agree on something. Our next meeting will be same time next week." Temari nodded and she watched as Itachi walked away and started down the hill. Pretty soon, the speck of black all the way the down the grassy hill was all she could see of her double agent.

**A/N: Haha so I didn't feel like ending this one on a cliffhanger, but trust me, there are A LOT more to come :) It is revealed that Itachi works for the FBI (GASP!) leave me a review if you saw that one coming, or just leave me a review because you're just cool like that.**

**THANK YOU THANK YOU to ALL of you who reviewed and told me not to discontinue this story...i was really surprised at the amount of people and so I'm never ever going to even THINK about stopping this story because as a reviewer pointed out I am WRITER4EVERR so that would be kind of hypocritical. :) Plus I'm feeling a revived love for this story, hope you are too!**

**The next chapter will be more about the whole group and will set up the framework for later chapters, so please look forward to it!**

**AAAND…PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Family? Friend? Foe?**

**One month later…**

**Uchiha Corporations, downtown Tokyo**

**7:39 PM**

**Previously:**

* * *

_**Naruto grinned. "Easy. You become our double agent."**_

_**Sasuke nodded and then paused, "Wait, what? You want me, to be a mole?" he asked with incredulity.**_

* * *

_**Temari held up her head haughtily, "Watch your self Uzumaki. You forget that we have the bigger guns. Figuratively and literally speaking."**_

* * *

_**Temari took the files with a satisfied smile. "Good work and still, Madara knows nothing about your true allegiance with the FBI?" she asked Itachi.**_

* * *

Sakura blew a bright pink bang out of her vision as she waited for the copier machine to finish its job. She sighed at the monotonous task and almost wished that she was out on an infiltration mission. Almost. It wasn't like she didn't like the peace and quiet for a change, it was just that she was used to adrenaline pumping though her body and swinging off buildings. The everyday routine was unsettling to her, like she couldn't believe that she didn't have to have her guard up every second of the day. She sighed wistfully as she thought about life without the espionage. Why the hell had she even gotten mixed up in this business? She fumed. A mental image of her father's dead body flashed through her mind and she clenched her fingers together at the reminder. She shook herself out of her daydream; she was here for a reason.

She let out a sharp exhale, she had a target in mind and that was the only thing that she could afford to be focused on. If she failed this, she would fail everything that she had worked up to; there was no room for distractions. Sasuke, Ino, Naruto, all the friends she had recently acquired had to be out the way when the time came.

Hot breath tickled the back of her neck; "Daydreaming again?" a low, amused voice came. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

Goosebumps rose on her skin and Sakura turned to face Sasuke, "Jeez! Don't scare me like that." She laughed and hit his arm harder than she intended to.

He winced and rubbed the area with a weak smile. "Ouch. Jumpy as usual." He smirked. "How's your work coming along?" he gestured to the copy machine.

She shrugged carelessly, "Fine. You always hand me the boring stuff to do." She stuck out her tongue playfully and picked up the copies, "I mean really, make 240 copies of the business program? Even Naruto could do this." Little butterflies rose in her stomach as she continued talking. This feeling that she got whenever she talked to Sasuke happened quite frequently. Over the month they had their lunch dates and the fact that he had a fiancée was often forgotten during their conversations. Sakura smiled brightly more often and even Shikamaru noticed that she was always in a better mood.

Sasuke let out a short chuckle, "Sorry. Unless you want to be swamped with work like Tenten, you should be glad that you only have to make copies."

Sakura pouted, "I know, I know." She tucked a strand behind her ear and began fiddling with her ID card, "So what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked curiously.

He crossed his arms casually, "Naruto organized a get-together at Thai Garden. He wants to have bonding time." He rolled his eyes. "Hinata, Ino, Tenten, Neji, and Sai are going as well."

She smiled, "Everybody's going? Sounds fun! Count me in."

Sasuke grinned boyishly, "Good. I would have made you come anyways. After you're done dropping those copies off at the lobby come meet me in the parking garage and I can take you there." He offered an invitation.

Sakura's heart began to thump wildly and she swore that it was the only audible sound in the room. She blushed and nodded, "Sounds great, I've never been-"she was interrupted by a buzzing sound and Sasuke's face fell and he let out a low oath.

He pulled out the phone and shot the caller ID a death stare. "Jesus, I'm sorry Sakura, I have to take this." He stated apologetically, obviously irritated.

She could see his irritation and smiled, happy that he hadn't wanted to be interrupted. "No problem." She waved a hand. Smoothing out her skirt and blouse she sat back and waited for him to finish his call. She guessed who was calling. Naruto? Maybe. Rin? Most likely. She smirked; Rin had made it clear that she was displeased with Sakura's presence at the office. Sasuke's fiancée had visited the office multiple times and sent Sakura on little jobs such as getting coffee. She snorted, like that was going to keep Sakura away from Sasuke.

He slid the phone and almost barked into it, "What?" he listened silently and then let out a sigh, "Look, Rin, I told you already. I'm busy; I don't have time to go to dinner with you and your parents." Sakura smirked at his fib. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Things have been really busy down here; I just can't afford to leave work. Maybe another time." He suggested half-heartedly. He closed the phone and placed it back in his suit pocket. "Really sorry about that." He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes.

Sakura summoned up the courage to speak, "Sasuke, if she irritates you so much, why did you even bother with the engagement?" she asked with some amusement mixed into her tone.

He rolled his eyes, "I didn't expect it to be like this." He stated truthfully. "At first I was fine with it. Business engagements are rarely one of intimacy, but she seems to forget that fact and wants to be intimate every second of the day. I guess I deserved it, being stupid and just accepting the liaison between the two companies without even thinking about it." He ran a hand through his hair. "Biggest mistake of my life." He muttered.

She smiled and tilted her head to the side, "We all make mistakes and end up regretting them. It's just human nature not to be perfect all the time." She let out a quiet laugh.

He let out a rare smile, "I'll try to remember that next time."

* * *

**Thai Garden****, 40****th**** Ave**

**8:02 PM**

Naruto took the straw in between his mouth and began to blow bubbles in his coke. "Man, where the hell is Sasuke?" he complained. "I'm starving."

Ino snapped her menu close, "He called and said that they were running late. You could have ordered already." She motioned at her own plate which consisted of some type of noodles.

Naruto made a face and continued blowing through his straw. It was an awkward moment between the group. Tension coated the air as they sat in silence. The tension was attributed to the two Hyuugas who sat at opposite ends of the table, as far away from each other as possible. Ino had no clue what happened that resulted in the distance between the two cousins except that Hinata refused to speak to Neji, was almost scared of him and Neji, kept a cold air around him when Hinata was around.

Tenten nudged her boyfriend, "Neji, "she half-pleaded, "It's about time that you and Hinata made up for whatever happened. Try and talk to her."

Neji growled, "Tenten, you wouldn't understand. Even I don't understand. We weren't exactly on the friendliest terms but some time ago she just completely ignored me. You're putting me as the antagonist!" he hissed.

Tenten frowned, "That's not like Hinata to just stop talking to somebody. If I didn't know better, it looks as if she's scared to death of you." She whispered fiercely.

Sai turned to them with a sly smile, "It's not exactly polite to talk about people when they're but a few chair away from you."

Ino overheard and scowling she reproached her co-worker, "Oh shut it, Sai. Let them talk it out."

Hinata fidgeted nervously in her seat and to her immense relief saw Sasuke and Sakura heading towards them. Ino snickered, "Here come the love birds." She called out in a sing-song voice.

Tenten smirked, "They do look awfully good together, you have to admit." She laughed.

Naruto nodded and grinned, "Screw Rin!" he let out a loud bellow of laughter.

Sakura and Sasuke drew up a chair next to each other. Sakura greeted everybody warmly while Sasuke nodded informally. Naruto still sat snickering while everybody else quieted down. Sakura leaned in to whisper in Ino's ear. "Damn. What's with the awkwardness?"

Ino muttered quietly so that only her best friend could hear, "It's Hinata and Neji." She informed her in a low voice.

Sakura nodded, understanding coming into her eyes, Of course. Even though people had the tendency to open up to her, Hinata wouldn't speak a word about what was going on between her and Neji. It remained a mystery to everybody. Sakura shrugged and picked up a menu, she was starving and right now that was her priority. "So!" she started cheerfully, "What does everybody want?"

A waitress flitted over towards their table and smiled coyly, her eyes directed at Sasuke. Sakura grit her teeth together, in an attempt to keep her mouth shut. "Hello, what would you like today?" her voice was sugary sweet and she couldn't stop batting her eyelashes as if she had something stuck in her eyes and it wouldn't go away.

Sasuke looked up with a bored expression, "I'll just have a water." He nudged Sakura on the arm, "What do you want?"

Sakura paused, perusing through the menu and then looked up at the waitress, "I'll have an order of the special today." She ordered and then looked around, "Anybody else needs to order?"

Naruto interrupted, "I do. I'll have a large bowl of ramen!" he proclaimed.

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Stupid. This is a Thai restaurant. They don't have Japanese food."

Naruto faltered, "Oh…I guess I'll just have whatever Saku-chan's having then." He sulked.

The waitress flicked a strand of hair behind her shoulder and rolled her eyes, "Will that be it?" her voice strained with clear irritation. Without waiting for an answer she turned on her heels and left towards the kitchen. Sakura smiled good riddance, she thought silently.

Naruto plastered on a goofy smile, "So, teme, what took you and Sakura so long to get here?" he chortled

Sasuke frowned and Sakura rolled her eyes, "Naruto…" she warned.

Ino let out a peal of laughter, "No, Sakura, really, answer the question." She prodded her best friend.

Sakura glared at Ino, "Shut it, pig. You don't see me questioning your relationship with Sai." She smirked.

Sai grinned while Ino turned a shade of red, "Sakura! There's nothing going on between us!" she shrilled.

Sasuke grinned mischievously, "I don't know-you two are pretty cozy."

Ino shook her head, "No. Absolutely, not. Gross. Let's stop talking about this." She took a breath and sipped her iced tea.

Sakura laughed but stopped abruptly as she saw Neji stand up, his eyes focused on Hinata's frail figure. "Hinata." He spoke clearly. The other table members were quiet as they waited for the Hyuuga drama to unfold. Shaking, Hinata turned to face her cousin and she simply stared at him. Neji continued, "Can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked tersely. There was a deathly silence and then Hinata nodded and silently stood and followed her cousin to a secluded area in the restaurant.

Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Sai and Tenten just sat there, glancing at each other. Ino let out a hiss, "Tenten, did you urge him to do that?"

Tenten put up her hands defensively, "I told him to talk it out with her, I didn't know that he was going to do it now!" she insisted with a frown.

Sakura put up a hand to stop the quarreling, "Stop it. Isn't this fine? We wanted them to sort out their differences and now they are. We should just wait." She stated anxiously.

Sasuke shook his head with a grimace, "I don't like it. Somebody should go and see what they're talking about. It might escalate into something that we don't want to happen in a public place."

Sai leaned back in amusement, "Are you suggesting that we eavesdrop on them?"

Naruto growled, "Yeah, he is." He wasn't particularly happy with the idea that they were going to invade his girlfriend's privacy.

Tenten spoke up, "I nominate Sakura." She on the other hand seemed fine with the idea of eavesdropping on her boyfriend.

Sakura's eyes widened, "W-wait, what?" she paled, "I-"

Naruto grimaced, "I don't like it, but if anybody should do it, it should be Sakura. We've known both of them for two long; we'd all be biased except for Sakura."

Ino nodded, "For once I agree with Naruto."

Sakura bent forward and hissed, "Are you serious?" They all nodded. Sakura was tempted to flat out refuse them but she was curious at what all this drama was so she stood up with a frown, "Okay, okay. I'll do it." She muttered.

She eased her way out of the table and moved to the secluded area where Hinata and Neji stood. There was a leafy plant that stood close by, where she could hide behind. She glanced back at the table to see Ino nodding. Sakura let out a sharp exhale and crouched down to listen.

"….why can't you tell me?" it was Neji's voice and he sounded beyond frustrated.

"…because it's complicated!" Hinata pleaded. "…not simple at all!"

"…deserve to know why you're acting like this to me! I want…help you!" Neji insisted.

There was silence and Sakura heard Hinata's sobs breaking through, "…I can't! Please don't…I don't think we should even do this."

"….do what? Talk to each other like family members should?" He asked mockingly.

Hinata's voice had quieted down from her shrill and Sakura had to lean forward to listen, "….don't think we should be even talking….I don't see you as a family member." She whispered.

It was pure silence and Sakura's heart was hammering, how could Hinata say that? She didn't regard Neji as her own blood?

Neji spoke up in a clear, cold tone, "I see…well, if you truly feel that way, I'm sorry for bothering you, Hinata-san." Sakura heard him leaving and she stood up abruptly trying to hide herself at the last minute. It didn't really matter as Neji just brushed past her, not even looking around. Sakura assumed it was because of his anger that he didn't care who was around and who wasn't.

Sakura quietly moved towards Hinata who sat in the secluded area with her knees pulled up towards her chest and had her head buried into her lap. She could see her shaking with silent sobs. "Hinata…" she whispered.

Hinata jerked up immediately at the sound of Sakura's voice and looked relived to see it was only her. Sakura saw Hinata in the dim light. Her eyes were already swollen and tears dripped down her cheeks, her mascara smudged all over the place. "Sakura-chan, please, I'm fine." She whispered in a dull voice.

Sakura continued and sat next to Hinata's small body. She smoothed her hair down and patted her back soothingly as her own mother had done before she had died. "Hinata-chan, won't you tell me why you and Neji are in this situation?" she asked gently.

Hinata shook her head, her lip quivering, "Neji and I used to be such good friends when we were little. W-We used to play all the time. We were still good friends, something happened. I-I want to tell y-you. But if I tell you, it'll just end up hurting m-more people t-than I intended." She bit her lip and tears welled up. She brushed aside the tears angrily, "I'm fine, really. If you really want to know, it's the tension between the two divisions within the Hyuuga company." She stated hastily.

Sakura knew she wasn't telling the truth as she saw Hinata's eyes flicker nervously from side to side. However, it didn't feel like the right time to question the poor girl. So she helped Hinata up and smiled brightly, "Don't worry about it all, it'll be fine. Let's get you cleaned up."

Hinata gave a weak smile and then followed Sakura's lead to the bathroom, "Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. You're such a great friend."

Sakura smiled back, "Don't think much of it. I'm not really deserving of it." Sakura's smile faded as she knew the truth of her words. She realized how much Hinata would be hurt if she knew Sakura's real motives. She really didn't deserve this.

* * *

**Minutes later…**

Sakura stepped out of the bathroom with Hinata who had washed her face multiple times and put her hair up in a ponytail. They nervously made their way to the table and to their surprise found Neji and Sai gone. Sakura frowned and spoke up, "Where's Neji and Sai?" she asked tentatively.

Sasuke cleared his throat, "They, uh, left. He had some work to finish and Sai volunteered to take him back." It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that that wasn't really why he had left.

Sakura sighed and sat down. She pushed aside the food that had come when she was gone, her appetite had vanished. Naruto on the other hand, had already finished his meal, in the short amount of time that she had been gone. She looked up, "I think I'll just box this up. I'm not very hungry anymore." She stated.

Ino nodded and then put on a smile, "That's fine. We were thinking of heading to Sasuke's house afterwards anyways. Well, I don't know if you can call it a house, more like a castle." She snorted.

Sakura's eyebrows rose in curiosity, "Sasuke's house?" she echoed.

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah. My parents want me to come and visit. You're welcome to come, but my parents, they're a bit…eccentric." He admitted.

Tenten laughed, "Just a bit? Try like a lot. His dad remembers every single thing that has ever happened and his mother is just about the sweetest woman, she get overenthusiastic about a lot of things." She smiled.

Naruto squeezed Hinata's hand comfortingly, "Come on! It'll be fun, Hina-chan!" Hinata looked over and gave her boyfriend a small smile.

Ino leaned in to whisper in Sakura's ear, "You have to fill me in later." Sakura gave a small nod and began dishing her food into a small take-out box. Her interest was piqued by Hinata's and Neji's earlier conversation. Although it wasn't part of her Kurokage assignment, it didn't mean that she couldn't figure out what was going on between the two Hyuugas.

* * *

**Uchiha Mansion**

**9:12 PM**

Sasuke's Volvo pulled into the open gated entrance and it was all Sakura could do to keep her jaw from dropping open. The Uchiha's Mansion had a similar structure to the White House with strong pillars that supported the roof. There were multiple windows lined across the front of the house and a huge double door entrance stood 9 feet tall. The house was surrounded by a lush rose garden and green grass that looked as if it was manicured daily. It probably was. The car pulled into the garage and Naruto and Tenten's car followed into the garage as well. The garage was built so that other guest cars could park in the building as well.

Sakura stepped out of the car still in awe at the size of his house. Sasuke shrugged and pulled her by the arm, "Stop gawking." He smirked and pulled her inside the house.

The immediately entered the kitchen which was the same size as Sakura's apartment. Sasuke gestured towards the door, "This is the servant's entrance, but, I hate using the front door. My parents are always waiting there for me." He muttered.

A maid walked in, carrying a bread basket and dropped it as she caught sight of Sasuke. "Sasuke-san! It has been ages since you have visited us!" she cried out in a loud voice.

Sasuke cringed at the volume of her voice and greeted her warmly with a smile. "Ayane-san, these are my friends. You know Tenten, Ino, and Naruto, but this is Sakura. She just recently started working as my secretary."

Sakura felt shy as the old woman viewed her with a critical eye. The woman had a tight prim bun and pursed lips that smiled as she greeted Sakura, "Well, hello! Nice of you to come and visit! Ah-are you hungry?"

Sakura shook her head, "No thank you, we just came from a restaurant." She refused politely.

Ayane waved her hand, "No problem—"

"Ayane-san, is that Sasuke?" a loud voice asked from outside the kitchen.

Sasuke cringed and called, "Yes, mother!" They heard a loud clatter and his mother came in at full speed charging like a bull and threw her hands around her son's neck.

"Sasuke!" The mother greeted with an adoring smile. She was a beautiful, slender woman with wrinkles just forming at the edges of her mouth. A man followed behind her and Sakura assumed that it was Sasuke's father; he came in with loud footsteps and a hearty laugh, "Sasuke! Nice of you to stop by!"

His parents noticed Sakura standing by, awkwardly. "Well, here's somebody we haven't met yet! Sasuke, introduce her!" his mother scolded.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and began, "Mom, Dad this is Sakura Haruno. She's my new secretary." He let out hesitantly.

His mother let out a squeal and pinched Sakura's cheeks much to Sasuke's embarrassment, "Oh, but she's absolutely gorgeous! I'm Mikoto Uchiha and this is my husband Fugaku Uchiha!" she gestured to the tall man at her side.

Fugaku put up a hand, "Just a second, is your name Haruno?" he asked curiously. "I've heard that name before."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You've always heard a name before. Trust me, you don't know her dad."

Mikoto pursed her lips in a disapproving manner, "Now, now, Sasuke." She warned.

Fugaku frowned in concentration and closed his eyes. "Haruno, Haruno, Haruno. Ah! That's it! I do know the name!" he cried out triumphantly. "Shirori and Taka Haruno!"

Sakura froze, her blood running cold as she heard Fugaku proclaim her parents' names. No way. There was no way this old man could have possibly remembered or even known about her parents. She didn't even know the Uchiha's! She remembered Tenten's words.

"_Just a bit? Try like a lot. His dad remembers every single thing that has ever happened."_

Sakura bit her lip, it was possible she had lived in this region since she was a baby, but she had moved after her parent's deaths. Still! She hadn't known the Uchihas, had she? She spoke up with a shaky voice, "Those are my parents' names." She said softly.

Fugaku's eyes widened in interest, "Are they now? Shirori and Taka used to be old family friends of mine! Child, don't you remember visiting us often? Shirori would always bring you along on her visits." he reminded.

And then, she did. The memories came back to her. The house, the backyard, all of the memories came flooding back to her. The ones she had suppressed because she had sworn to never remember those times. She glanced at Sasuke in wonder, "We used to play together?" she asked with a little laugh. That was why he had seemed so familiar! She had known him since she was a child! He gave her a little smile back as he seemed to be in deep thought as well.

Mikoto gave a happy cry and smiled, "How are your parents? Is Taka doing fine?" she asked eagerly.

"He's dead." She stated flatly. Sasuke looked over in surprise.

Mikoto's eyes widened, "Oh my. Darling, I'm so sorry for your loss. However, don't you remember playing with Sasuke when you were a little child? You and Sasuke would always play in our backyard with the roses. One time, you pricked your finger and Sasuke tried to stop the bleeding with his sock!"

Naruto snorted behind them and Sasuke's cheeks reddened, "I never." He insisted. Sasuke seemed in doubt, "I think I would remember, Sakura." He stated in doubt.

Mikoto wrung her hands with exasperation and then lit up. "I do believe I have some photo albums, wait here!" she hurried off to scurry down to the basement.

Sakura could only stand there in bewilderment and surprise. Dread crept into her stomach. First her reunion with Ino and now this, the revelation that Sasuke had been her childhood friend. Her past was catching up to her and she wasn't sure if she could outrun it.

* * *

**A/N: CHAPTER 15! Hope you guys enjoyed it! I was in a bit of a rush to finish this one so excuse any typos or errors! Just to give you guys an estimate, this story will be around 26 chapters so look forward to 11 more chapters :) **

**Please leave a review and tell me if you guys like how this story is going and what I need to improve on or just tell me what you like, either way is cool!**

**Synopsis of next chapter: Sayuki returns to Uchiha Corporations with some questions that she wants answered. Anko demands Sakura for more information and Uchiha secrets, putting even more of a stress on Sakura's conscience, especially after Sasuke decides to act on his feelings.**

**Let's hope Sakura remembers the number one rule: don't trust anyone! ;)**

**REVIEW!**_  
_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Psycho Women, Hot Kisses, Sneaky Moles and More to Come**

**Uchiha Corporations, downtown Tokyo **

**5:32 PM**

As usual, it was a busy day at Uchiha Corporations and Tenten was bustling around. Her feet ached terribly in her chocolate brown Louboutin heels. If only she had a job that allowed her to wear slippers to work. She sighed and continued down the long hallway, making her way into the eastern wing of the building. She passed by Neji's office. It was still tightly closed and it looked as if nobody was inside. She felt a pang of empathy and bit her lip. Neji still refused to talk about the Hinata situation and they were on even worse terms than before. She was so stupid, why had she even suggested the idea? Her mind wandered and she remembered the revelation of Sasuke and Sakura's past. Much to Tenten's pleasure, she had learned more about Sakura's past, but still, Sakura was a mysterious person whom she still knew barely anything about. Sasuke seemed quite taken with the pink-haired beauty and Tenten hoped to god that if they ever did have babies, they would inherit their father's hair. However, the annoying pest, more commonly known as Rin, was still in the way. She growled at the amount of drama surrounding her life. All the drama topped onto the enormous loads of work was slowly driving her insane.

Her cellphone beeped and balancing the stack of folders she was carrying, she slipped open the phone and let out an irritated, "Yes?"

"Tenten, are you busy?" Kiba asked in a casual tone. She could just see him, sitting at his desk, chugging down a can of soda while watching the security cameras.

"No, Kiba. I'm just sitting here while there's _tons_ of works to do. Yes, I'm busy!" she snapped angrily. She stopped a lower-ranking office worker in their tracks and thrusted her pile of folders in his hands, "Put it on my desk!" she hissed.

Kiba let out an easy chuckle, "Deep breaths, baby, deep breaths."

Her jaw clenched. "Don't call me baby, got it? Now, do you have anything worth hearing?" she asked impatiently.

"There's a Lady Alyssa Angler, in the lobby. She's requested an audience with Sasuke." He let out a low whistle, "She's pretty hot. At least, from what I can see on the security cams."

She rolled her eyes in disgust. Tenten paused, "Wait, _Lady_ Alyssa Angler? Is she high-class royalty?" she asked with some disbelief mixed in with her tone.

Kiba muttered, "Hold on a second, I'm looking through her personal files on the computer. Let's see, it says here, that she's distantly related to the Duchess of Canterbury and is the acting ambassador in business relations for Britain. She specializes in foreign languages and has a major in social entrepreneurship."

Tenten mused for a second, "Britain, hmm? Contact the lobby and tell her I'll meet her in a couple of minutes." She ordered briskly. She was curious to speak to Lady Alyssa, Britain almost never sent over representatives. It had to be a very important matter that needed discussing.

"Sure thing." He sighed and then hung up the phone with a short click. Tenten shoved the phone into her pocket and made a sharp left, turning into a passage that led to a partially obscured elevator. She slipped her ID card through the slot and the door automatically opened. Pressing the designated, circular button, she waited for the security check.

"Voice identification, please." The mechanical voice broke through the speakers.

"Tenten." She spoke, clearly. A beeping noise followed, recognizing her tone and the elevator began to move downwards. After a few short minutes the elevator door slid open to the lobby.

Tenten walked through and almost immediately spotted the British woman. After all, it was hard to miss the only blonde woman in the entire room. Said blonde hair, was styled into big, bouncy curls that ran to the length of her back. She was a rather tall woman with large blue heels and a matching dark blue cardigan paired with a black dress with an abundant amount of lace. Her face was pale and her green eyes seemed to wander around, observing the room with nonchalance.

The British woman caught sight of Tenten as well and immediately walked up, "Hello, it's a great pleasure finally to meet you. I assume you're this Sasuke's secretary, are you not?" she asked in a breezy manner. Her voice was heavily accented.

Tenten nodded, "Yes, I am. My name is Tenten, and yours is Lady Alyssa Angler, I presume as well."

Lady Alyssa let out a sharp laugh, "Well of course! You seem to know me quite well already. Did you have a file drawn up on me?" she giggled.

The brown-haired secretary ignored the question and continued on, "What was it you wanted to speak to Uchiha-san about?" she asked curiously.

Lady Alyssa frowned, "It's a more private matter that I would choose to speak to him about only." She stated firmly, her red lips rearranging into a downward grimace.

Tenten was a bit put off but gathered herself up. "Of course, we respect our guest's right to privacy. Just follow me and we'll see if Uchiha is available to meet you."

The tall blonde smiled gratefully and followed Tenten into the elevator. Tenten again swiped her card in and the elevator closed with a quiet ding. She spoke, "So how long will you be in Japan?" she asked politely.

Lady Alyssa smiled, "Just a few days. I expect my business to be completed quite soon."

There was a small, awkward silence and Tenten attempted to keep the conversation going, "I noticed your title, are you related to royalty?"

She shook her head, "Technically I am VERY distantly related to a Duchess but, the connection is so small, I don't see why they bothered to give me a title. Out of respect, I guess." She let out a small chuckle and began humming a small tune.

The elevator door slid open and Tenten muttered, "Follow me." She went down the brightly lit hallway and making a sharp right turn, came to her boss's office. She knocked on the door with three short taps. There was no response and she let out a sigh, "It's fine to come in, I guess. He must be getting a coffee. We can wait inside for him." She spoke to Lady Alyssa. Tenten opened the door and to her surprise she saw Sakura and Sasuke. Standing _very _close to each other. They could have been mistaken as looking as if they were kissing. Wait, were they? Tenten's mind let out a little squeal, were they?

Lady Alyssa let out a small gasp, "Oh my, are we intruding?" Her accented words startled the couple and they turned to face Tenten and Lady Alyssa. Tenten's face fell in disappointment as she saw that, Sakura was merely tying Sasuke's tie. She made a small face.

Sasuke cleared his throat and shot a smoldering glare in Tenten's direction, "Don't I always say to knock?"

Tenten rolled her eyes, "I did." She answered bitingly. "Apparently, you were a little bit too preoccupied to notice." She shot back with a smirk."

Lady Alyssa let out a small giggle at Tenten's comment and Sasuke and Sakura's eyes focused on her. Sasuke strode across the room to greet her in his usual, charismatic manner, "Hello, I don't believe I've had the acquaintance to meet you. Uchiha Sasuke." He extended his hand. Eying her carefully he kept a close distance.

Lady Alyssa took his hand with warmth and smiled genuinely, "Pleasure. Alyssa Angler."

Tenten introduced her, "Lady Alyssa Angler is from Britain, she is their valued ambassador for business relations. She wishes to speak to you privately."

Sasuke's dark eyebrows rose, "Is that so? Well, then of course." He turned to Sakura, "After Lady Alyssa leaves, I need to speak to you, so don't get lost somewhere." He grinned.

Sakura frowned. "Heyy, I'm not that directionally challenged." She had a little smile on her face and then strode out of the room, her red heels clicking against the marble floor.

Tenten proceeded to follow her but Sasuke called for her to stop, "Tenten. Just a second, you can stay." He had a calm look upon his face and Tenten glanced at Lady Alyssa who just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Tenten let out a sound of protest, "But, she specifically said that she wanted to speak to you in private!"

Sasuke shrugged, "Whatever she has to say to me, she can say to you. That won't be much of a problem, will it, Sayuki?" he started sifting through some business papers, boredly.

Tenten looked on at the woman in confusion. Sayuki? Who the hell was Sayuki? The British woman gave a huge sigh and rolled her eyes once more. Tenten watched in shock as the lady dug at the skin of her neck and grasping edges of the peeled skin, she lifted off her prosthetic mask, blonde curls and all. Tenten was now facing a lady with sharp, pixie like features and silvery hair that was kept in a low bun. Taken aback, Tenten backed away, "W-what, is going on here? Sasuke!" she growled for some kind of explanation. He just stood there looking at Sayuki with a tiny smile of victory.

Sayuki spoke, "Sate, watashi no namae wa Sayuki." She spoke in perfect Japanese. Her British accent had completely disappeared. All mannerisms of the prim British lady were now replaced by a confident, mysterious Japanese woman. She smirked and resumed speaking in English, this time; her words were directed towards Sasuke. "You just HAD to give up all the fun, didn't you?" she glared at him. She pulled at her bun and shook out her long shimmering hair.

Tenten was still in shock and stammering she asked, "B-but, she got through security! Kiba checked out everything!" she insisted. "There's no way!"

Sayuki frowned, "Kiba, you mean that scruffy mutt? His security is a joke." She muttered. Laughing she held up the prosthetic mask for Sasuke to see, "It's a pretty good replication, huh? Almost looks exactly like Alyssa."

Sasuke cocked his head to the side, "What are you doing here? Madara sent you?" Chills traveled down Tenten's spine as she heard Madara's name and she realized what that meant. It meant that Sayuki worked for Akatsuki, no wonder she had been able to sneak through security.

Sayuki replied offhandedly, "Madara? Mm, yeah, he did tell me to keep an eye out here." She reached into his bowl of candy that lay on his desk. "Ooh, peppermints! My favorite!" she smiled and started to open the wrapper.

Sasuke let out a sigh of irritation, "Does that mean you'll be here often?" he asked warily.

Sayuki nodded absentmindedly, "Unfortunately, yes. Your office smells like crap." She pursed her lips as she viewed his messy desk. "Sheesh, you're exactly like your brother."

His eyes narrowed at the mention of his older brother but he decided to ignore her comment. "Are we done here?"

Sayuki made a pouty face, "Why so eager to get rid of me? You want to talk to your girlfriend?" she teased "The pinkette, right? She's pretty!" she announced in a sing-song voice. Tenten hid a smile behind her hand and pretended to cough discreetly. Sayuki paused though as a thought dawned on her, "Hey. Wait…what about that other girl. The positively revolting one, what was her name? Rin?"

He smirked, "Rin Hayazaki. Don't worry about her." He stated vaguely.

Tenten frowned, "What does that mean? It sounds like you killed her." She laughed.

Sayuki shrugged, "He should have. She annoyed the hell out of me. I'm not surprised if you did, I couldn't stand a minute without reaching for a knife."

Sasuke threw both of the women dirty looks, "Do you think I'm that type of person to just kill somebody if they annoy me?" Tenten opened her mouth but he glared at her, "Don't answer that." He crossed his arms, "To put it simply I—"he was cut off as a flurry of screaming was heard outside of his office. It was a female voice shrieking and the person was getting closer.

Tenten paled, "You didn't break of the engagement." She spoke with disbelief. Please, don't tell me that's her right now." Sasuke got up abruptly with his jaw clenched.

Sayuki merely played with her kunai, spinning it around on her thumb. Rolling her eyes she spoke dryly, "Fan girl drama. My cue to leave. I'll be in the lobby if you need me." She hopped up on to the window sill and propping up the window she let herself drop into the air, out of Tenten and Sasuke's sight.

Tenten's mouth was agape and Sasuke merely sighed at the sudden cold breeze. He reluctantly went over to shut the window close and then stopped as the screaming volume increased.

The screaming could be heard quite clearly now. "You! Don't you DARE try to stop me! I need to talk to Sasuke-kun! I swear to god if you don't let me in, I'll shove you down!" Rin shrieked.

Sakura was also heard trying to calm down Rin, "Uchiha-san is busy with an important guest! If you could just wait—"

"I'm NOT waiting and I'm CERTAINLY not listening to some dumb bimbo who thinks so highly of herself now that her boss is available." She sneered.

Tenten muttered to Sasuke, "God finally. You grew a pair and decided to dump that psychotic woman."

Sasuke wasn't listening as his eyes grew darker with anger as he heard Rin's harsh words towards Sakura. He was about to go out into the hallway right then and there if it hadn't been for the door already bursting open with Rin strutting in followed by a flushed Sakura.

Tenten felt bile rising in her throat as she saw what Rin was wearing. A huge fur ensemble with a fox fur wrapped around her neck and a short mini fur skirt with a leopard patterned blouse matched with furry boots. She swore that Rin was shedding at the very spot she stood in.

Sasuke spoke in a hard voice, "Look, I told you. I'm sorry about it but I don't feel particularly good about marrying somebody I'm not interested in."

"Good? What do you mean? Did I do something?" she asked in a little, pathetic voice.

Sasuke shook his head vigorously, "Of course not." He lied. "I just don't feel a mutual attraction. I'm sorry." He repeated.

Rin's face reddened as she heard the definiteness in his voice. She turned to Sakura who just stood there, "It's her, isn't it?" she snarled.

She shook Sakura violently and Tenten grabbed Rin by the arm, "Rin! Stop it!" she warned.

Rin ignored Tenten, and shrilled out, "I knew it! When I first saw you, I KNEW you would do this to me!"

Sakura simply looked at her with calm eyes, "I didn't do anything." She spoke clearly and viewed Rin with discontent. "If anything, it was your own vanity that brought you down."

Letting out another shriek of frustration, Rin, in her fury, lifted up her hand as if to smack Sakura but was stopped as Sasuke let out a sharp growl.

Sasuke now stood up to full height and spoke in a menacing voice, his calm demeanor gone, "Rin, leave." He grasped a hold of Rin's arm and shoved her in Tenten's direction. "Tenten, take her downstairs to the lobby. Sayuki will be down there as well. She'll know what to do with her." He instructed. Silently nodding, Tenten obliged his orders and glared at Rin and took her by the elbow, leading her outside while Rin stood in bewilderment at what had just happened.

Sasuke shut the door firmly and let out a long sigh of relief. "The hell is she doing?" he muttered quietly to himself.

Sakura dusted herself off and raised her eyebrow, "That was quite a scene." She agreed. "Does she do that often?" she attempted to make light of the situation.

He softly chuckled, "Nah, only happens once a month." He looked down apologetically, "Sorry about that, I didn't know that would happen." He shook his head.

Sakura tilted her head to the side, "Why didn't you tell me that you broke off the engagement?" Although she might have just gone deaf with Rin shrieking in her ear, happiness began to bubble up in her stomach. He had broken off the engagement!

He let out a low, husky laugh. "Hn. Well, I was going to tell you earlier, things sort of piled up with visitors and such." Sakura frowned as she remembered Lady Alyssa Angler, what had happened to her? Had she left in the middle of all the chaos, Sakura couldn't remember seeing her at all.

She stepped closer to him and looked at him, straight in the eyes, "Why did you do it?" she asked simply. She was so close, she could practically feel the heat emanating off his body.

He was silent for a moment and then let out a small smile, "She was getting annoying." He admitted. Disappointment surged through Sakura's body, she half expected the fairytale ending of him sweeping her off her feet and proclaiming his love. No such luck there. But he continued speaking, "And…"

She prompted him, "And?"

With a smirk, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. At the sudden contact, Sakura's heart gave a lurch and she stepped back in surprise. She lifted her hand to her lips and her stomach wouldn't stop fluttering around. She blinked in surprise as she realized that he had just kissed her. Sasuke Uchiha had just kissed her. There was absolutely no way that she had just imagined that.

Sasuke glanced at her expectantly and ran a hand through a hand through his tousled dark hair. Sakura could feel her lips upturn into a grin, "That was a pretty good answer." She remarked with a light smile. She stood on her toes to place soft kisses along his jawline. "Mm. Took you a while." Sasuke slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and then leaned down to trail his lips along her swan-like neck. Sakura felt her eyelids droop downwards as she closed her eyes at the blissful sensations running through her body. A loud vibrating sound, however, broke through her thoughts and her eyes shot open. "Ah, damn!" she tried to get up to answer the phone but Sasuke held her in place tightly by the waist.

"You answer that phone, and you're fired." He murmured in between kisses.

Sakura breathily laughed and tried to detangle herself from his arms. "Come on…" she grinned. "Save this for later!" Sasuke reluctantly let her go and straightened out his suit jacket while she grabbed her phone and picked it up without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Sakura, where are you?" Sakura's mind went blank as she heard Anko's cool voice speak. Hearing her superior's voice brought her back to the harsh reality. My god, what was she doing? She just made out with her target? What the hell was she thinking?

She struggled to answer her question, "I-I am at my workplace. Is there something wrong?" she asked politely.

"Actually no, everything's quite all right. Better actually. You see, I found a mole, lurking in the shadows. This one thought he was so clever." Anko's voice was triumphant.

Sakura tried to breathe normally, "Who is it?" she asked with curiosity.

Anko let out a high laugh, "Oh well, I don't want to spoil anything, come down and I'll show you. You can do the honors of seeing him off, eh?" the phone clicked as the line went down and Sakura, shaking closed the phone.

Sasuke looked at her with sleepy eyes, "Who was that?" he noticed her shaking, "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.

Biting her lip she came up with a quick lie, "M-my friend, she's in the hospital, she collapsed and the doctors requested I come down. She listed me as her emergency contact." She trailed off.

Sasuke nodded, "Don't worry about it, go ahead. I'll dismiss you from work." He rubbed her hand in reassurance.

Sakura smiled weakly, "Guess, liking your boss has its perks!" she laughed lightly and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek before flying out of the door, the pit in her stomach spreading as she was dreading what was to happen next.

* * *

**Kurokage Headquarters**

**6:18 PM**

Anko held up the polished silver pistol in her hands as she examined it in the sun. It was a perfect machine of death that was going to suit her needs for today. Anko loathed moles, those people that used her trust and stabbed her back. She hated them with every ounce in her body and she always had fun getting rid of them. She loved showing them the error of their ways and how stupid they were, to think that they could get away with their actions. Damn traitors. She seethed with hatred but she maintained her calm composure. This mole especially brought out her hatred like none had before him. He had used her, abused her trust and now he was going to pay. Anko had found out just a few days ago, she had looked through her files on a rare occasion, searching for a file and she saw it. A mini-bug placed in her files that transferred files out to foreign machines. She recognized the mechanism immediately as she knew only one person, had access to that material. Only one person who could have pulled off that trick on her.

She faced him now and relished at the sight of him, bound tightly to a rickety chair whose splinters dug into his skin. She smirked, and gripping his hair tightly she asked him, "Shika-kun, are we doing all right?" she laughed as he merely grunted in response. Yes, it was him. Shikamaru Naara who had betrayed her in the end. "Tell me, how long did you think you could get away with this?"

He chuckled, his mouth bleeding at the edges. "Took you a long time, didn't it? You would have never figured out that I was an FBI mole, taking all your data to them. "

She snarled angrily holding him by the collar and she punched him, square in the jaw. "I wouldn't laugh about it, now Naara. Your life is on the line now." But she paused and lowered her gun, "I must commend you however, for gaining my trust and sneaking around right under my nose. How hard was it for you to lie to Chouji, Sakura, and Shino?" she asked mockingly.

Shikamaru remained silent and he looked at his doomed situation. He had been caught. He had been found out as Kurokage's traitor. He laughed at how easy it had been to first infiltrate this organization. How easily they had trusted him. His mind went numb, he had no regrets. He had done as he was instructed and now he was to be rid of. If there's only one thing he wished, to apologize to Sakura and Chouji. That was it. To tell them that he never meant to get caught or even be in this situation. He looked up at Anko blankly and egged her on, "Aren't you going to kill me?"

Anko titled her head in slight amusement, "In due time, in due time. First of all, my questions."

He rolled his eyes, "Oh great."

Anko shot him a severe look and continued, "Do you have any accomplices within Kurokage? Are you the only one? If you answer to my liking, I'll give you death the quick way." She stated sweetly.

Shikamaru shook his head, "I'm the only one. The FBI thought it was too risky to bring in more than one. They said you would be able to sniff a duo out." He stated simply.

Anko smiled in satisfaction, "Good. Next one," she stood up and cocked the gun towards his head, "Are you ready to die?" she smiled maliciously.

Shikamaru laughed bitterly, "Is that all? Women usually have a lot more things to say. You're not going to nag me?" he asked mockingly.

Anko's face reddened, she was furious. Why wasn't he scared? Why didn't he seem to care about his situation of life or death? She held up the gun steadily as she tried to calm herself. The fact that he wasn't pleading for his life irritated and annoyed her. She wanted to make him scream. Determinedly she held up the gun and cocking it once more poised her finger on the trigger.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and he heard the gun's bang ring out once. He didn't feel anything though. No pain, no blood splattering upon his face. He frowned, was he dead already? Shikamaru opened his eyes and to his shock saw Anko on the ground clutching her leg in pain as it was coated with fresh, red blood. Shikamaru looked up to see Chouji, standing there with a gun in his hands. "Chouji!" he let out a hoarse cry.

Anko was still writhing on the floor in pain, "Chouji! You choose this traitor over me!" she demanded.

Chouji shrugged, "Yeah, I do." He aimed once more and shot her other leg." She let out a cry of pain as she entirely crumpled to the floor, she couldn't move at all, both legs shot.

Chouji brushed past her body and took out his knife and began to cut away at the cords that encircled Shikamaru's body. Shikamaru struggled to talk, "Chouji, y-you why? I'm FBI." He whispered out in a strangled voice.

Chouji had a resolute expression and just continued to saw away at the ropes. They broke apart and Shikamaru pulled the ropes down from his body. Chouji cocked his gun and aimed it at a nearby window and shot at it, shattering it completely, leaving an exit for the both of them.

"Come on, let's go!" Chouji muttered and then grinned at his friend, "Figured I'd at least save the day for you, eh?"

Shikamaru broke into a tired grin and clapped Chouji's back.

Breathing heavily, Shikamaru climbed atop the window sill while Chouji stood nearby, waiting for his chance. Shikamaru smiled, "Thanks again, Chouji. Always the brave one, huh?"

Chouji smiled brightly and opened his mouth to speak but a gun rang in the air instead of Chouji's kind words. Shikamaru looked down in horror to see Chouji's chest. A bright red dot spreading slowly across his white shirt. The red continued to spread and Chouji's face was frozen in a look of surprise as a tiny trickle of blood ran down his chin. All Shikamaru could do was just stand there and see his best friend fall to the ground like a little rag doll.

He looked up to see Anko, lying on the ground weakly, with a gun in her hand. She had managed to bring down Chouji with her last push of strength. Shikamaru let out a loud bellow and he pulled out his own gun to shoot her in the chest. He didn't give a damn anymore; all he could see was red. Anko let out another shriek of pain as the bullet punctured its target. He wanted her to suffer as Chouji would. Shikamaru bent down to lay Chouji in his chest, "Chouji, Chouji." He repeated over in a useless mantra. "Chouji, it'll be fine."

He held Chouji's cold hand in his own and saw Chouji's eyes slowly glaze over, death taking his victim. Shikamaru felt hot tears spill down his cheeks as life ebbed out of his friend. "Chouji…" he moaned in utter desperation. He held Chouji's hand for what seemed just a few seconds before he heard Anko's guards coming. Their footsteps stampeding through the hallways. Shikamaru knew what that meant. It was his team to go. His time to leave. Leave Chouji, leave to run away from Kurokage. He slid Chouji's body of his legs and folding Chouji's arms over his chest, he gazed at the body for a few more minutes and silently left the room, splattered with blood.

**A/N: Woww…I feel like a lot happened. HAHA anyways, that was the character death (R.I.P CHOUJI!) and another mole is revealed to be Shikamaru. While things are more dramatic over here, things happened on Sakura and Sasuke's side of the plot as well. So just for any clarifications, Chouji was not a mole but merely wanted to help Shikamaru escape because they were besties, however he was shot down before he could escape as well. Shikamaru is now on the run from Kurokage and we'll see how Rogue Agent Naara will fare, eh? Unfortunately, Anko is NOT dead, merely severely wounded. Rin's out of the picture leaving room for some SASUSAKU lovin'. YUPP! Hope you enjoyed! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Next chapter will not review until I get up to 150 reviews mark please :) **

**P.S. as a thank you to miss alyssaangel15 I put your ****first ****name in the story as a HUGE THANK YOU to all your reviews hope you enjoyed :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger…Theoretically.**

_I'll play on your fears; I'll leave you in tears_

_You'll never be the same, my friend_

_You're walking a line; it's a matter of time_

_You'll never rest easy again_

* * *

**Kurokage Headquarters**

**7:09 PM**

All Anko could see was red. Blood splattered all over her. Blood splatters on the floor. Blood, blood, blood. Red hot anger coursed through her veins as she lay on the floor, vulnerable and helpless. Letting out a bitter chuckle, she glanced at the corpse beside her. Chouji Akimichi had payed the ultimate cost for his betrayal, with his life. Her thoughts darkened as her mind wandered to Shikamaru. Her fists clenched together and she swore that the little mole would go down as well. She gritted her teeth and sent a loud oath through the empty room. She tried to get up but her legs gave way instantly. Her leather jeans were soaked through with crimson blood and her hands were equally stained. Forcing herself to block out the pain she inched across the floor like a pathetic dog and tried to reach the exit. Her efforts were in vain as she realized that her followers were already coming towards her. They probably had heard Shikamaru's gun shot.

Almost immediately, footsteps pounded across the hall and were heading in her direction. She struggled to stay conscious as the heavy loss of blood was beginning to affect her. The heavy, metal doors slammed open and the first person Anko saw was Sakura, her jade eyes wide as she viewed the bloody mess.

Sakura rushed over to her superior and began to collect Anko onto her lap, "Anko-sama! What happened?" she cried out.

Anko snarled weakly, "Shut up! Get Kabuto's paramedics here NOW!" She was enraged that Sakura wasn't even doing a thing. She didn't need sympathy right now. What she needed was Shikamaru's head on a silver plate.

Sakura nodded and yelled out the orders to a young lackey. Sakura clasped her hands around Anko's and muttered soothingly, "It'll be fine, just relax. Breath in and out." Anko tried to focus on breathing as it became difficult. And then she felt Sakura's hands go cold. Sakura uttered a low groan, "Oh my god, is that-that…it can't be…" She whispered as she finally caught sight of Chouji's body. Sakura's hand went to her mouth to stop the bile from spilling out. "Ch-Chouji…what happened?"

Anko growled, "He got what he deserved, damn traitor! The mole I was telling you about—"

Sakura shook her head, her hands still trembling, "I-it was Chouji?" She felt her life spiraling downwards. All these people, found out. Just a few minutes ago, she had been innocently involved in her little world with Sasuke, and now this. Chouji was dead. Chouji, sweet Chouji. His eyes were forever close. She shuddered as tear threatened to spill down her soft ivory cheeks.

Anko's lip curled unpleasantly, "No. It was Naara. I was just about to shoot him when Chouji shot me from behind. Shikamaru managed to escape but I brought Chouji down." Victory shone in her eyes.

Sakura's blood ran cold as Anko muttered Shikamaru's name. He had been caught as well? She struggled to speak as questions went racing through her mind. Her two friends within Kurokage had disappeared within a few tragic minutes. One was on the run and the other lay dead beside her. She bit her lip hard so that Anko would not see the salt tears anymore.

A paramedic tapped her on the shoulder and brought her out of her state of mind. "We'll take Anko-sama from here. Doctor Kabuto can treat her wounds at his clinic."

Sakura nodded and reluctantly handed Anko over to two paramedics who carried her on to a stretcher and left the room swiftly. She looked around the room as Chouji's body remained on the floor and a dozen or so rookie assassins walked around examining the scene with fascination. She disliked the rookies who came in with egos the size of Mt. Everest and thought themselves highly experienced. She gathered her things to leave and make the preparations for Anko's hospitalization.

It was then that Shino walked in with a grim expression as he viewed the mess. "I'm guessing I was assigned clean-up duty." He stated dryly.

Sakura let out a hollow laugh, "Hn. I guess so."

Shino nodded, "Has Anko been transported to the hospital yet?"

She replied, "She just left. I enlisted Kabuto's medical skills and payed him off to treat her wounds. I have no doubt about his ability."

Shino, satisfied with her choice gave a curt nod, "Do you want me to deal with Chouji's body or just let them be?" he gestured behind her.

"Eh?" Confused, Sakura turned around to see a few of the rookies kicking at Chouji's body. They were sneering and laughing as they took turns marring his skin. They jeered out calls of 'traitor' and continued to laugh merrily, oblivious of Shino and Sakura's stares. Rage boiled up in Sakura's body. How dare they? Stooping as low as to this? Her teeth came together and she let out a feral snarl. Traitor or not, Chouji was vulnerable, what kind of cowards beat up a dead body? Disgust rippled through her mind and she snatched out her gun. Aiming carefully, one by one, she shot all of them through the abdomen so that they dropped down clutching at their stomachs. Fresh blood rained down on to the floor and Shino stood by just watching her with amusement.

One insolent rookie looked up at her with eyes blazing with anger, "The hell was that for?"

Sakura's head cocked to the sideways, "Kurokage has no room for scum like you." She stated coldly. She aimed the gun and shot at him again. He doubled over in pain and it was like she felt no emotion. The regret she had been feeling over spilled blood had completely vanished. Her grief over Chouji's death had overridden all other emotions. Her fingers itched to pull the trigger again, but she knew better.

She looked down at the rookies haughtily, "Get out of my sight!" She snarled. They obliged her command immediately and fled out of the room as she still had the gun held at the ready. As soon as they had left her sight, Sakura felt her anger ebb away. She viewed the bloody mess they had left behind and she woke herself out of her blood lust.

Sakura shook her head, "Sorry about that Shino, made the job even harder." She stated apologetically. "I was being reckless." Her jaw clenched. She raised her clothed hand to wipe away at a blood splatter on her cheek. She stared at the cloth for a brief second, the bright crimson fading away to a rusty red.

Shino shook his head, "Don't be. A bullet to the head was what they deserved. You were too easy on them. " His eyes darkened. "Traitor or not, Chouji is dead now." He spoke simply.

Sakura sighed and crouched down to pick up Chouji's body. Her eyes watered with regret and she spoke to Shino, "I'll take care of this." She spoke silently.

Shino nodded, "Make sure you do. Anko—well you know her. She'd have wanted the body mutilated. It's the punishment of a mole. We should all know this by now. The consequences of being a traitor."

Sakura's lips thinned and she nodded, "I know, I know all too well." She replied darkly.

* * *

**Tokyo Police Department**

**7:33 PM**

Hinata's head hurt and she felt like it was about to split apart. Her head was spinning with so much going on, it threatened to swallow up her very mind and cause her to go insane. Her fingers trembled as she tried to finish writing up the paperwork but her mind drifted to Neji. Neji, she thought mournfully as her heart ached. She wanted to take back all the harsh words. She wanted to tell him why she had to do it. Wanted to take him back into her arms and apologize profusely for everything. Shaking her head, she tried to push the longing away. It was only a matter of time. Just a few more weeks, she could do this. Steeling herself, she clenched her fists together, Patience. And then something happened that just heightened her nerves. That scared the shit out of her in one second. She felt the cold hard metal of a knife press against her throat. A cold, clammy hand clasped over her lips as she tried to let out a strangled scream.

A man's low raspy voice whispered in her ear, "I need to speak with Tsunade-sama."

Hinata nodded furiously and she tried to squirm her way out of his grasp. "MM!" she tried to call attention to herself, but nobody seemed to be rushing over. Damn it! The intruder had timed his attack well.

His voice came again. It was strained and he spoke quickly, "This is an urgent matter. When I let go of your mouth, don't you dare yell." Hinata nodded furiously, agreeing with his terms as she saw the glint of the knife.

The man slowly let go of her mouth and she whipped around to face the person who had attacked her. Her eyes immediately landed on his crimson stained shirt and his hands which were cut up and bloody. His black hair which was tied back in a spiky ponytail had leaves stuck in them and his face was weary and worn. She was startled to only see desperation in his eyes and not the killer intent she had been expecting.

"W-who are you?" her voice trembled and she struggled to control herself.

His jaw clenched and he spoke carefully, "It's not important. I need to see Tsunade!" he repeated urgently.

Sudden courage bloomed within Hinata and she stood her ground. "Your name. How can I expect you won't attack Tsunade-sama like you did with me?" she demanded.

He chuckled amusedly, "How will knowing my name benefit you? Even if I did tell you my name it wouldn't help. Tch! Troublesome…" he groaned. "Please, this is important. A friend of mine has been hurt. That's why—"he trailed off and gestured to his bloody attire. The pain in his voice was clear as day and a pang went through Hinata's heart.

She viewed him cautiously, "Tsunade-sama isn't in. She's in the United States. She left a couple of FBI agents in her stead."

The man stopped suddenly, "What?" he asked sharply. "FBI?"

Hinata nodded. "FBI, they regularly visit every year to aid us. I'm sorry about your friend but, Tsunade isn't here." She reported regretfully.

He shook his head, "That's fine. I need to speak with the FBI then." He demanded.

Hinata frowned. This man was highly persistent and it didn't seem like he was going anywhere. Who was he? His appearance was frightening but he seemed genuine to her and she felt a need to aid him. However, weren't Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro talking with Naruto? She wasn't about to just go through the office with a man stained with blood. She picked up the receiver and dialed rapidly waiting for her boyfriend to pick up.

"Oy! Hinata-chan!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Naruto-kun…a-are Temari-san and her brothers in your office right now?" The man looked up beside her as she mentioned Temari's name.

"Yeah, they are. Why?" he asked curiously.

"There's a visitor for them. He says it's very urgent." The man beside her nodded anxiously.

Naruto paused, "Alright then. We'll be right out." He hung up the phone with a click and Hinata placed down the receiver as well.

"There. Happy?" she asked, annoyed. She didn't mean to sound rude but the man had hardly divulged any information after all the trouble she had gone through.

The dark-haired man shook his head, "I'll be happy when all this hellish chaos is over." He replied grimly.

Hinata wondered what he meant by that. Hellish chaos? She straightened up with a severe look. "Hmph. Well that's the thanks I get? After you threaten me with a knife?" she felt emboldened.

His eyes widened and he scratched his head sheepishly, "I didn't know how well you receive me so I had to use-ah-certain tactics. I wasn't going to hurt you." He hastily added.

She let out a loud breath and turned to him, "Aren't you going to at least tell me your name?" she asked out of sheer interest.

He snorted, "If it's so important to you, I guess. My name is-"

"SHIKAMARU!" a woman shrieked in horror. Hinata turned to face Temari running out of the main hallway and coming their way. Gaara, Kankuro, and Naruto trailed behind her. Temari's face blanched as she saw the blood on his shirt and she struggled to form a coherent sentence, "W-what, w-who, this blood!"

Shikamaru tried to soothe her, "It's not my blood. It's Chouji's." his eyes dulled in pain.

Kankuro came behind his sister and cut in sharply, "You shot Chouji? Your orders were to steal data not kill Kurokage operatives!"

Shikamaru attempted to protest but Gaara cut him off. "Now's not the time Kankuro. Shikamaru can explain later. We need to get into a secluded area where others cannot hear us." He gestured to Hinata, "We hope you don't mind. However this is sensitive information." He explained.

Hinata nodded in understanding and murmured softly, "As you wish." Gaara nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave, pulling his siblings and Shikamaru with him.

Naruto turned to Hinata, "Hmph." He had a discontent expression on his face. She knew that he didn't like being excluded from information and she had to let out a small giggle. "What?" he asked.

She smiled, "Nothing. I was just thinking to myself." The phone rang from her desk and she reached over to pick it up. "Hello? This is Tokyo Police Department. How can we help you?"

Naruto heard her let out a gasp and he turned in worry, "What's wrong?" She shook her head and mouth the word 'nothing' however her face was void of all color.

"Yes, yes. Of course." She swallowed. "Right now?" her voice cracked. She glanced quickly over at Naruto. "I know that." She added hastily to the person over the phone. "Yes, all right. I will be there." Her hand shook as she placed the receiver down.

Naruto's blue eyes had darkened, "Who was that?" he demanded.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Th-that was my father. He requested me to come as soon as I can. There's been a family complication. He's asked that all the Hyuugas attend this meeting." She replied, her eyes nervously flickering from side to side. "I-I need to go. I'm sorry." She muttered to Naruto.

"H-hey Hinata!" he called after her.

Grabbing her purse she left the building as quickly as she could and stumbled to her car. She bit her lip to try and contain the tears that threatened to spill out. She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned back, it had to be done. This was all for Neji. If she could just endure this then everything would be fine. Things could go back to normal. Guilt welled up inside of her as she thought of Naruto. Clenching her fists together she pushed the image of Naruto away, things had to be sacrificed in order to finish her deal with the devil.

* * *

**Tokyo Police Department, Interrogation Room D**

**7:52 PM**

"We can talk safely here." Gaara informed the three others. They all took their seats around the table. Temari's expression was tense and her eyes never left Shikamaru's bloodied shirt. Shikamaru merely sat down with his lips pursed tightly together and his eyes raged angrily, he didn't have to say a word for the others to know that he was not in a healthy state of mind. Kankuro and Gaara merely stared at their mole carefully and observed him from across the table.

Temari spoke first, in a broken voice. "What happened?"

Shikamaru spoke simply, "My cover was compromised." He fell silent.

Kankuro nodded, "Were you the only one caught?"

Shikamaru nodded, closing his eyes. "Yes. The other is safe. I made sure to convince Anko that I was the only one."

Temari let out a breath of relief, "What happened in the headquarters? Did Anko herself find out?"

Shikamaru didn't respond but Gaara looked up at him sharply, "Tell us."

Shrugging nonchalantly Shikamaru began, "She had brought in a new security analysis while I was out on a field mission. The security analysis ran a check on the firewalls and discovered the leak. I hadn't thought to hide it seeing that she alone trusted me with all the data. I shouldn't have taken that for granted. She was getting even more anxious about moles lately." He chuckled bitterly. "Anyways, the security analysis reported the leak and seeing as how I was the only on that had access to the data, she easily narrowed down the mystery mole to me. I came back the next day, she started going insane on me…" he remembered it quite vividly in fact.

FLASHBACK

"_Anko?" he asked as he viewed the gun pointed at him._

"_Shikamaru…" she trembled. "W-was it really you? You betrayed me?" her voice shook hard and her hand shook just as hard. "How could you? I TRUSTED YOU!" she screeched, her eyes bulging out in fury._

"_A-Anko," his heart dropped. How had she found out? "Anko, what are you talking—"_

"_DON'T LIE TO ME!" she shrilled out. "I know about the leak on the firewall. You planted it there. It could have only been you." She broke down as she tried to breath, "H-how could you? I thought that—I thought that YOU of all people would NEVER do this." She sounded genuinely confused and hurt to the point of insanity. Her eyes were wide and blood shot and her hair hung in greasy wisps around her face. He had never seen her this way._

_She fumbled with the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed past him as a result of her trembling hands she had missed. She screamed in frustration and hurled the gun at him. The gun hit him square in the jaw and he fell down in acute pain._

_Breathing heavily Anko sneered and pulled him up by the collar. "Stand up, you traitor!" she cackled madly, the hurt was gone from her eyes and her eyes were wild. She slapped him hard to the ground and yelled at him once more, "GET UP! Traitor, traitor, traitor!" she sang out mockingly. _

_He stood up shakily and faced her with blazing eyes. He wasn't going to let her do this. Anko recognized the stubbornness in his expression and snapped, "Don't look at me like that! I HATE that look! TRAITOR!" she screamed and jumped onto him and clawed his face attempting to gouge out his eyes, "NEVER look at me that way!"_

_END_

"She tortured me to no end and finally. She tied me to a chair and she had calmed down by then. She started asking me questions about who I worked for, you know, usual crap. She took out her gun and just as she was about to shoot me, Chouji came in and shot her in the leg." He looked down and he tried to hold in the surge of emotions as she thought about Chouji.

Temari looked up in surprise, "Chouji? The Kurokage operative? He betrayed Anko?" she asked in disbelief.

Shikamaru nodded. "He didn't explain why. He didn't have the chance to." His voice hardened. "Right when we were about to escape, Anko shot him in the chest. I-It was a blur then, I remember clawing for the gun on the floor and then pulling the trigger."

Kankuro interrupted, "Agent Naara, the orders were not to shoot Anko. We as agents of the United States in the country of Japan can only act on the orders of Tsunade-sama. We merely aid the Japanese. We cannot act on our own orders. She gave none and therefore you went against rules! The consequences of your actions will affect every FBI agent involved in this Japanese case."

Shikamaru stood up; his eyes were darkened with rage, "Screw the damn rules! I don't give a damn about what the rules are or aren't. She killed Chouji. Chouji saved me. I acted on animalistic instinct and my own desires. Because of that, I have nothing to apologize for. She deserved it." He hissed out.

Temari's lips quivered as she watched Shikamaru rage on. She had never seen him like this. He had always been the lazy agent that cared about nothing. However, here he was, growling at her brother, this side of Shikamaru she hadn't seen before.

"That justifies nothing." Kankuro spat back. "You have forsaken your morals!"

Shikamaru snarled, "Because of me, Chouji died! I-"

"Enough." Gaara's clear tone rang through. Both Kankuro and Shikamaru looked at Gaara and reluctantly sat down. Gaara stood up and he spoke authoritatively, "What has happened, has happened. We cannot go back and change anything. Therefore, you are wasting your breaths fighting over this. You call yourselves FBI agents?" he questioned them mockingly. "All I see are two men acting like little children." He reproached them. "If we are to do anything, this fighting will only hinder it. Shikamaru reported that our other mole is safe. He made sure of that. We still have an ace up our sleeve even if Shikamaru was compromised." He turned to Shikamaru, "Chouji's death is unfortunate but his actions were noble and therefore will be honored. His death will be avenged by the capture of Anko. Acting recklessly and on bloodlust will do nothing for you."

Shikamaru nodded in submission, "Of course, Gaara-san. And what has become of Uchiha? The eldest one." He added for clarity.

Temari answered him, "He is still under deep cover. He has managed very well and holds Madara's trust. We only worry he will act recklessly when his brother is involved."

"I trust that he will not." Gaara responded.

"Of course he will not." Shikamaru assured. "In the meantime, where will I reside? I cannot risk running into anybody. Besides, looking like this, I can't exactly just prance around Tokyo."

Gaara smiled wryly, "No, of course you can't. You'll room in Temari's apartment." He stated calmly.

Shikamaru's face reddened, "T-Temari?" he sputtered. "But what about you or Kankuro?"

Temari turned to her brother as well, her face redder than a tomato, "Onii-san!"

Gaara shook his head, "Kankuro and I share an apartment together. Temari has one extra room. You can manage you too, especially since you two-ah-know each other quite intimately already. It should work fine." He shrugged.

Shikamaru let out a little growl but glanced at Temari, "Ahh…fine." He agreed reluctantly. Temari's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak but found that she couldn't even form a word.

Gaara let out a cold smile, "Good it's decided then. Temari you will drive Shikamaru back to your loft out the back door and ensure that nobody sees him. I need you to stay there until I can get Itachi to provide you some false documents. You'll continue your stay in Japan and aid us as you know Anko very well. Understood?"

Shikamaru nodded his head, "Yes, I understand."

Gaara nodded and then turned to walk away. However he stopped as if a thought had occurred to him. His head turned slightly to face Shikamaru, "And, one more thing." He paused, and then glared at Shikamaru, "If you try _anything_ on Temari, you're dead." He threatened darkly. He turned back around and walked away, "That's all." He called out lazily.

A pit formed in Shikamaru's stomach as he realized what he had gotten into. He put a hand through his already messy black hair, "Damn it all…" he muttered. "Troublesome." But he knew that everything would change now that he had fled Kurokage. He also knew that he would bring down Anko, no matter what.

He at least owed Chouji that.

* * *

**24th Street, outskirts of Tokyo**

**12:00 AM**

Sakura Haruno was living an empty life. She didn't know who she was anymore. She wasn't the obedient Kurokage agent. Nor was she the Uchiha's secretary. So who was she? She let out a little growl of frustration. What was she doing? She had sworn to never lose her way in life and here she was, lost. Shikamaru was on the run, Chouji was dead. What had happened to everything? How had things gotten this way? Tears welled up, brimming hot against her cold cheeks. The footsteps behind her caused her to brush them away suddenly and put on a calm demeanor.

"Were you crying?" he asked, not fooled at all by her façade.

She bit down on her lip, "I was." She shrugged. "So what?" she demanded haughtily.

He shrugged, "Nothing." He replied simply. They just stood there on the hill, overlooking the city below them.

Sakura spoke first, "I-I don't know what to do." Her voice broke. "I have so many secrets. So many people I have to hide them from. I feel like there's nothing real right now." She admitted. "I can't do it without you, Shikamaru." Her eyes were sad as she viewed the weary man before her. Shikamaru was her FBI partner and had gone undercover with her from Day 1. How would she get by with him gone? How could she lie to Anko's face every day and pretend like she hated Shikamaru and Chouji's guts. S

Shikamaru snorted, "Your confidence is unusually low." He smiled tiredly, "You need to remain strong. You are our ace. Anko still does not know about you. Why throw this opportunity away when it's all you've been working for your whole life?"

Sakura nodded slowly, "I know all this. But Chouji…" she paused "He is dead because of this war between the FBI and Kurokage. Chouji, of all the innocent people, had to die. His death has made me rethink everything." She confessed. "I don't want more people dying for this selfish goal."

Shikamaru's eyes were fierce and alert now, "Anko will get what she deserves in due time for what she has done to Chouji. We are doing this so that people won't get hurt." He reminded her. "We can't afford to have anything get in the way. Including Uchiha Sasuke."

Her cheeks heated as she heard his name. How had he guessed her feelings? "Th-that's crazy—"

"Save it." He cut in boredly. "It's quite obvious." He smirked and then the grin faltered to a more solemn look. "But I'm serious. He's linked to Akatsuki." He warned.

"He's inactive in Akatsuki duties." She shot back.

"Nonetheless, how do you expect this to work? Uchiha will find out that you were assigned with seducing him. Let me clarify that you are an FBI agent. You are not Uchiha's secretary." He shook his head. "It's best to break it off when you can."

"I'm willing to take a chance with this." She retorted coldly. Her green eyes flashed angrily.

He chuckled bitterly. "I took that chance with Chouji. I thought everything would be fine to keep that friendship with him even if he was Kurokage. I took the chance, I gambled his life. Look how that turned out." He pointed out. "You're putting Uchiha's life on the line by doing this."

Sakura shook her head vehemently and she tried not to think of Sasuke, dying because of her. She trembled, what if he did end up like Chouji? What if- "No!" She shouted angrily. She pushed aside Shikamaru, "We're done here." She muttered. She needed to get away. The air was suffocating here.

Shikamaru watched her leave bemusedly and called after her, "Same time, next week." He watched her go down the hill and saw that she was shaking. Momentarily, he paused. Had he done the right thing in warning her like that? Shaking his head, he knew that he had done the right thing. He wouldn't allow another person to die because of their actions.

Sakura stormed down the grassy path, her thoughts all in a jumble and a twist of panic. The full impact of her relationship with Sasuke hit her suddenly. What if he found out that she had deceived him all this time? She could already see the betrayal and pain in his eyes. Oh god, she was going to throw up. She let out a little moan and pulled out her phone. Her fingers flying over the numbers as she dialed his number in.

He picked up on the second to last ring and his voice was rough with sleep, "Hello? Is everything fine?" he asked with concern. His voice eased the pit in her stomach and she felt immediately calmer.

"I-I need to talk to you…"

* * *

**A/N: Oy. I have not updated in forever. Its summer and technically I should have more time to write these chapters. But…I'm lazy. HAHA :) do not worry!**

**What's going on with Hinata? HUH? And Gaara wants to kill Shikamaru? What is this? And….Sakura is FBI? WRITER4EVERR has gone MAD. That's probably what you're thinking, or not. And that's why I want you to review! Let me know what you thought about this chapter! I love hearing feedback so don't be shy :)**

**Next Chapter: They just hooked up and now SASUSAKU are already having some couple problems? Sheesh. Guess that's what happens when you don't tell your boyfriend that you are a secret agent for an enemy organization and that you were assigned to seduce them and trick them into revealing all their secrets. ALSO somebody's getting a little nosy and suspicious of Sakura. Can she maintain her lies and disguise?**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: All or Nothing**

_Because I could not stop for Death,_

_He kindly stopped for me._

_The Carriage held but just ourselves_

_And Immortality_

_~Emily Dickinson_

_FLASHBACK: 9 years ago…_

_Sakura's mother called from the kitchen. "Sakura, your father's home!" She was sitting at the table busy signing off business proposals. _

_She heard her mother call and she immediately got up. Her father was home from the US and she hadn't seen him in 6 months. Racing downstairs she threw herself into her father's strong arms. "Dad!" she laughed happily._

"_Hey, Saku! You've grown!" he exclaimed in his loud booming voice. He stood back to examine her, "You sure look a lot older than sixteen, that's for sure." He mused._

"_Yup, pretty soon I'm going to be taller than you." She grinned. "How did your mission go?"_

"_Can't say, remember top-secret FBI information only." He winked merrily but his lips were turned down in an expression of wariness. _

_She rolled her eyes, "Of course. I forgot. Just wait till I'm in the FBI along with you." She let out a little laugh._

"_We'd be unstoppable." He nodded his head towards his luggage. "Want to take those up for me, real quick?"_

_She made a face but nodded and began heaving up is dark colored suitcase up the stairs. As she made her way into her parent's room she heard the doorbell ring. She wondered who it was. The thought was pushed away as she felt her phone vibrate. She slipped it out of her pocket and picked up. "Hello?"_

"_God, finally! I've been calling you for, like, forever." Her best friend, Ino exclaimed over the phone. "You will never guess who just asked me out." She squealed._

_Sakura had to chuckle, "Who was it?" she asked dryly._

"_Haru Takahashi! Haru Takahashi!"_

_Sakura's nose wrinkled, "Haru? The boy who ditches classes and makes perverted comments during biology? That Haru?"_

_Ino let out an exasperated sigh, "Why do you always focus on the negative aspects? Haru, for one, is hot. His bleached hair and piercings, he's SO good looking." She stated dreamily. "Of course, not as good looking as Sasuke, but he'll do."_

_Sakura heard a loud noise from downstairs and she frowned, what was that? She made her way near the door and spoke quickly, "Hey, I got to go, I'll call you back later, mmkay?" _

_Ino growled, "Fine. Whatever." The phone line went dead and Sakura shoved the phone back in her pocket. She heard another loud noise downstairs but it sounded muffled. Sakura's heart beat rose, what was going on?_

_She made her way carefully down the stairs and she finally caught sight of her father. However, her instinct made her stop and wait for something to happen. _

"_Agent Taka, honestly, how long did you think you could hide from Kurokage?" a mocking, female voice asked. The sharp voice sent a shiver down her spine and she inched forward to see who was speaking. She saw a tall woman with a spiky purple hair standing haughtily in the kitchen. She was accompanied by 2 broad shouldered men._

_Her father's voice came weakly, "H-how? Did you tail me?"_

_The woman examined her fingernails, "You can't hide from Anko. You should know that." Her mouth curved into a wicked smile. "Sakura's breath came out in shallow gasps, so the woman's name was Anko, and what was Kurokage? Infinite questions raced through her head, and then the woman's piercing voice came again._

"_Hmph. So it's only you and your wife, huh? I figure having a child is inconvenient for you, all the secrets you would have to hide." She laughed mirthlessly._

"_No, no child." He answered. Sakura felt her heart pound rapidly; her father was trying to keep Anko from knowing about her! She bit her lip, she wanted more than anything to rush out and save her father but…he had done this so that she would be safe. _

_Anko straightened up, "Well, I'm tired of all this. Let's move this to the entrance hallway. We can finish our business there. The smell of blood is giving me a headache." She scowled. _

_Sakura hear her words and scurried quietly up the stairs and back to the top of the stairs. She had had to move as the foot of the stairs began at the entrance hallway. If she had remained, Anko would have seen her for sure._

_Her father, Anko, and the two henchmen moved to the front of the door and Anko stared at him intently. "This is only fair punishment for what you did." She smiled. "You brought this ALL on yourself." Her teeth glittered brightly as she grinned and pulling out her gun she cocked it once and shot him in the head. Sakura could only watch in horror as her father's death unraveled before her eyes._

_BANG! The loud sound echoed in Sakura's mind and she could only watch blankly as her father fell to the ground, his face splattered with crimson blood. "F-F-Father." She whimpered. She could not move, the fear paralyzed her. _

_Anko yawned, "Don't bother cleaning this up." She stated boredly, "I want their bodies to be found." She kicked aside the fresh corpse and handed the gun to one of the henchmen. "Let's go. Our business is done here." She opened the door calmly and walked out. She seemed so at ease, not at all like she had just murdered somebody in cold blood._

_The door slammed shut leaving Sakura alone in the bloodstained house. It was eerily quiet. No sound of her mother's laughter or her father's hearty chuckles. Sakura's breathing was irregular as she struggled to get enough oxygen into her lungs. "Hah…hah…no…no!" she clawed her own palm, "Th-this is all…it's all just a…really bad n-nightmare." She walked slowly downstairs, her arms outstretched and she knelt down to her father's body. His bright green eyes, stared into her own. "D-Dad, c'mon, t-this is all just a bad joke, right? She asked desperately. She stroked his cheek and felt the wet, sticky, blood coat her fingertips. It was real. The blood was real. Her father's death was real. _

_She let out a shriek, "NO!" the single word resounded throughout the household and Sakura stumbled to the kitchen and she reached for the phone. She dialed in the three numbers and waited and waited until…_

"_Hello, this is 911. What is your emergency?" _

"_I-I…"_

"_Ma'am'?" _

"_H-he's dead." She whispered. _

"_Excuse me? You'll need to speak louder."_

"_My f-father he-" and then the thought occurred to her, her mother! Where was she? Her heart failed her as she thought of her father's fate. No! Not mother! The phone dropped to the floor as she turned to look for her mother. She didn't need to look far as just a few feet away the limp body of her mother lay on the ground. A single knife stuck into her bosom and blood stained the front of her blue sweatshirt. Blood pooled out from underneath her giving the scene a ghastly image. _

_The ground under Sakura seemed to give way and she fell in a crumpled heap. Her eyes closed and everything went pitch black. "M-mother."_

_Later…_

_When Sakura awoke, the first thing she heard was the slow, steady beeping of the heart monitor. She frowned, she was in a hospital? What had happened? She had only remembered blacking out. _

"_You're finally awake, Sakura." A low voice observed._

_Sakura turned to her left to see a tall man with burgundy colored hair and narrow black eyes. And to her surprise, she recognized the man. "Ah! You're Sabaku-san!" she exclaimed._

_He smiled, pleased that she remembered him. "Yes, I am Hanzo Sabaku, you probably remember me as an associate of your father's."_

_As Sabaku uttered the word 'father', Sakura's eyes grew wide and memories rushed through her. "My parents!" she grasped his arm tightly with a look of utter desperation, "Th-they-"she couldn't continue as she was overcome by sobs. _

_Sabaku's eyes lowered, "Yes. The police discovered the scene a while ago. I heard about Taka's death and I had to rush over. I knew he had a daughter. You see, my children, they're around your age, I can't even begin imagining how they would feel if they lost me. I know you're hurting." He tried to soothe the girl. Her body shook as she continued crying silently. _

_Sakura's heart ached painfully and she wanted nothing more than to just rip it out. She wanted to be free of all the emotions, the tears, sadness and hide in a corner. She was only sixteen! In a few minutes, she had lost both her parents! She froze as she remembered the lady, her name was Anko. She remembered everything about Anko. Her cold lavender eyes and spiky purple hair was engraved into Sakura's memory. Her sharp voice resounded through Sakura's ears, "You can't hide from Anko. You should know that." _

_Hanzo spoke, "Her name is Anko Mitarashi." It was as if he knew Sakura's thoughts. "She runs an underground criminal organization called Kurokage. Your father had eliminated one of her best guards and in retaliation she came after him."_

_Sakura's head rose, she wanted to hear this. She wanted to know everything about the murderer of her parents. The pain had slowly dulled away. She wanted Anko to pay for taking away everything._

_Hanzo studied Sakura, "Tell me, do you want to get back at Anko?" he asked curiously._

_Sakura nodded slowly. "I do." Her tone was small but firm. _

_He chuckled, "You see, your father left me as your guardian." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and he just chuckled again, "He thought I was best suited for the positions seeing as I have 3 kids of my own. Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro are their names."_

_Sakura cut in sharply, "What the hell does this have anything to do with Anko?" She was impatient._

"_Listen." He urged. "As a prominent agent of the FBI, I have had the special privilege to develop a sub agency of the FBI. It was originally created to establish a truce between Japanese and American intelligence. However, it has developed other uses as well. This sub agency is called Chiame. It's a special organization that allows trained FBI agents to aid Japanese Police Force. However, we're still looking for recruits."_

_Sakura paused, "You want me to join this organization, Chiame?" she asked in a small voice._

_He shook his head, "It is merely an option. It is a way to get back at Anko for your losses." Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Once you complete your training and become sworn in as an official agent, you will be able to be sent to Japan. We can have you infiltrate Kurokage and have you serve as a mole." He explained. _

_She slowly processed the information. A mole? FBI? America? She was only sixteen, she was still in high school! Her thoughts came across Ino; she would have to leave her best friend behind. But, her parents had been killed. They were priority weren't they? Here, her newly appointed guardian was giving her a chance to fight back. She had to take it, or she would never forgive herself. She looked up with blazing eyes, "I'll do anything to get Anko." She hissed. "You can make sure of that."_

_He had to smirk, "All right. I have to finalize the paperwork on the guardianship and we'll be set to leave for America. For now, you should rest."_

_She nodded and drew the covers up to her chin. She bit her lip as she tried not to think about her parents. But it was nearly impossible, the blood splattered memories kept flashing into her mind. Her teeth grit together, __I will avenge you guys. I swear it._

_END_

Sakura awoke with a start as she heard the buzzing sound of her phone next to her. It was the alert for a text message so she ignored it. She could read it later. Tiredly, she rose from the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. She took one look at herself in the mirror and mentally groaned. Deep bags hung under her eyes and her hair was a frazzled mess. She wondered why she had had that dream about her parent's death. It had been a while since she had recalled it. She preferred to keep it locked up in her brain. Her goal had not changed. She still was out to get Anko. This was what was she had worked to all her life. The grueling hours of training, silently suffering inside Kurokage's halls had all been for that one goal.

Sasuke Uchiha, the one man that had managed to somehow make her stop on that one-way track of life. She wanted him badly, the feelings that a rose whenever she was with him was the only real feeling she felt in her life built on falsehoods. Her mind struggled between vengeance and love. She couldn't be selfish and have both, she thought ruefully. She wanted their relationship to be something. Panic coursed through her body as she thought what would happen if he knew that she had been tasked with seducing him. But even thought that fear existed she wanted nothing more than to tell him the truth. She recalled her conversation earlier with him:

"_Is everything fine?" the concern was apparent in his voice._

"_Y-yeah, look, I just want to sort some things out with you tomorrow. It's a Saturday so are you free?" she asked tentatively._

"_I've got a business meeting, but it can wait. I'll meet you at the Chinese restaurant down by 4__th__ Avenue at 2." _

_She nodded, "That's good. I'll see you then." She whispered and hung up quickly before he could cajole her into saying anything that she didn't want him to know. His voice had a way of making her feel safe and want to tell him everything. _

_With that, she slipped the phone into her pocket and got into the car. It was time to go home for some much needed sleep. She would have time to think about where she wanted to proceed from there._

_END_

Sakura's head hurt as she thought out multiple options. Should I tell him the truth? Should I leave him? Stay with him and always keep a mask on? A chill traveled down her spine. No. That was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want another falsehood. She sucked in a breath. He was NOT going to end up like Chouji. Even if he hated her, she was not going to have him die. That was something that she was going to swear to. Her hands clenched the bathroom counter, her knuckles turning white.

_I see_, she thought to herself, _so that's how I shall have to do this.__ I hate having to do it this way, but it's all or nothing. Huh. I never was a good gambler. _She let out a bitter chuckle, "I swear." She whispered to her reflection.

* * *

**Chinese Cuisine, 4****th**** Avenue**

**1:54 PM**

Sasuke Uchiha was never a worrier. Until now. He paced back and forth along the sidewalk and glanced at his watch every now and then. It still wasn't two o' clock. Damn it. He ran a hand through his already mussed black hair and sighed in aggravation. He hadn't been able to sleep well since her call around midnight. She had wanted to 'sort things out'. What the hell did that mean? He was busy analyzing those few words all night and always came to the same conclusion.

She had found out about his ties to Akatsuki.

That had to be it. She had found out that he was an ex-assassin for a crime syndicate. There were multiple opportunities for her to have found out. Tenten could have slipped; she could have seen him with Madara. She had access to high level information, she could have accidentally clicked on a folder and saw his records. His mind strained, it was possible. He gave out a little growl; this was the last thing he had wanted to happen. Sakura had found out and now, she would, well what would she do? He was apprehensive of the idea. He didn't know how she would react.

"Hey." A soft murmur came. He nearly jumped in surprise as he turned to face the woman that he had just been agonizing over. She smiled prettily at his surprised expression, "Were you expecting somebody else?" she let out a shaky laugh.

He smoothed his expression and smirked as he reached in for a hug. He inhaled the scent of her hair, which smelled distinctly of strawberries. God, he didn't want his mistakes to cost him this. He let go reluctantly and looked down at her, "So, what did you want to talk about so urgently?" he asked. His voice was calm but his heart thudded.

She shrugged, "I-It can wait." Her voice faltered just a bit but she continued, "Let's just hang out for a bit, ne?" Her eyes shifted back and forth and he caught this. He now knew for sure that something was up.

He shrugged; when she wanted to bring it up she could; besides he was just drawing conclusions. He didn't know for sure if she actually knew. "That's fine with me. Where do you want to go?"

She thought for a moment, "Araihama beach? It's just a short walk from here." she suggested.

He nodded. He knew where it was. After all, he used to go there all the time with Itachi when he was little. He grabbed her hand and started walking briskly towards the path that led to the beach.

"Ay! Sasuke! Why do you walk so fast, I'm out of shape!" she laughed as he sprinted ahead. She struggled to keep up with the athletic man. She wasn't used to running fast unless she had adrenaline kicking in her system like on missions.

He looked back and grinned, "Slow poke!" he called and he turned to run even faster. "Last one there gets dunked in the ocean!" he taunted her.

Sakura's mouth dropped open. That was not Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha walked stiffly and wore crisps suits that would never wrinkle. Sasuke Uchiha did not grin. Sasuke Uchiha couldn't even crack jokes. Disbelief rippled through her, was he that comfortable with her? She always felt comfortable with Sasuke but she had never known for sure that he had felt the same way. That he was able to joke with her and taunt her. She had to smile and hope to God that everything would work out with them.

By now, he was already a good distance ahead of her and she frowned, she did not want to get dunked in the ocean. Nope, that was not going to happen. She mentally cursed her sandals and started to run at full speed. At one point she lost him as he took a different direction. But she continued ahead with a triumphant smirk, _Sucker, I'll get there first!_She saw the stairs leading down to the sandy beach and gave one final burst of speed and sprinted all the way to the end of the ocean. "HA!" she let out a victorious yell with her arms raised high. And then she lowered them. He was nowhere in sight. She looked around confused, there were but a few people tanning on the sand but Sasuke was nowhere in sight.

_No. _What if something had happened to him? Panic overtook her mind once more. Her breathing became shallow again. Just as she was about to turn and leave she felt strong hands push her towards the water. She let out a loud shriek, "KYAAAA!" and tried to regain her balance but ended up splashing into the shallow water.

She heard laughter from behind her and she turned around to see Sasuke with his hands on his knees and shaking with laughter at her reaction. She clutched at her heart as she saw him. "Sasuke!" she hissed fiercely. "Don't do that! You scared the crap out of me!" She sighed and closed her eyes.

He snickered, "Yeah that was kind of the point." He chuckled and pulled her out onto the sandy beach, "You okay?" he asked with a grin still faint upon his lips.

She playfully punched him the chest, "I am now." She laughed and glanced down at her legs. She was thankful she had worn a skirt or else her jeans would have been soaking by now.

They moved along the ocean shore and didn't do anything but talk for the time. Sakura felt a sense of ease come over as she laughed at his subtle jokes. Her heart gave a pang as she realized that this wasn't going to last forever if she was going to proceed the way she had originally intended to. She wanted nothing more than to be selfish and just keep Sasuke to herself. Away from her life of being an FBI agent. Right now, as Sasuke saw it, it was just the two of them and she wanted it to stay that way.

"…wait so what you're saying is you've never been to the US?" she asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "I've just never had time to."

She snorted, "Yeah right. You've been to Spain, Britain, China, Korea and you've never been to the US? You're a business man!" she proclaimed.

"Have you been there?" his eyebrow arched upwards.

"I lived there for four years. I moved back to Japan afterwards." She replied offhandedly. The question brought her mind back to the eve of her parent's death. Her face went pale and she looked at Sasuke, "Hey," she muttered and then her peripheral vision caught sight of a man walking behind them. The reason he had caught her attention was because he was wearing a dark suit. She frowned, what was somebody doing wearing a suit in hot weather like this, and at a beach no less?

Sasuke looked at her intently, "Yeah?"

She continued walking still eyeing the man from the corner of her eye. Was he following them? She looked at Sasuke, "Wh-what do I mean to you?" she asked curiously.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and Sakura's vision went back to the suited man. He stopped as well, trying to look like he wasn't watching the couple. Her teeth ground together. He was definitely following them. But he wasn't Kurokage, she knew a Kurokage agent when she saw one. She looked back at Sasuke, awaiting his answer.

He let out a wry smile, "What brought this on?"

She shrugged, "Nothing." She replied innocently. "I just want to know if this really means something to you. I-if I'm not just a fling to you." She whispered. In that moment she forgot about the agent tailing them. Her eyes solely focused on the man before her.

He shook his head, "The last thing you are, is a fling. Let's just say, in my life of having to always keep on a stoic mask. You're one of the few people that I can actually be comfortable with. Plus, I've known you the longest if we add all our childhood years." He grinned and leaned down to her face. Sakura initially thought he was going to kiss her but instead, his lips brushed against her ear, "Listen, there's somebody tailing us." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, so he knew about the man as well. "I need you to just walk back fast to the car. I know who it is and I'll explain everything on the ride. Just please, go along with this." He pleaded.

Sakura nodded slowly. He had said that he knew he it was, which could only mean one thing. The man following them right now was Akatsuki. She did as he said even though, if it had just been her, she would have just point blank, kicked the man in the ass and left. The two of them started for the car and as Sakura guessed, the suited man began following them at a distance.

She began to walk in a zigzag pattern just to make sure. Sure enough, he followed her pattern exactly. Sasuke noticed her tactic with surprise. When had she learned a trick like that? He glanced back at the man and saw that he drew something out of the inside pocket. It was clearly a gun. Sasuke's jaw clenched and he mentally scolded himself for putting Sakura in this kind of danger. He murmured to her, "Run."

She looked at him, "Wha?" he saw the assailant start to run towards them, "RUN!" he shouted. And he grabbed her hand and began to climb up the rocky path that led to the sidewalk. Sakura sprinted close behind him and just as they had reached the top, her sandal snagged on a craggy rock and she stumbled. Her skin sliced against the sharp tip of a rock. He was about to bend down to aid her but she was up in a flash.

"Don't stop moving!" she panted out. She yanked off the high heeled sandals and threw them behind her. It was all Sasuke could do to keep his jaw from falling. If he hadn't known any better, she seemed to him like another agent.

A bullet whizzed past his head and he ducked down, "Shit!" he growled and pulled Sakura's hand almost violently.

They reached their vehicle in no time and Sasuke had the key in the ignition in a second. Beside him, Sakura urged him to hurry up and get going. She glanced behind her and let out a squeak, "He's in a car now! There's somebody with him!"

The tires of the Sasuke's car squealed as he drove out of his parking spot and onto the open road. "How many are there?"

Sakura turned back again once more, "There's only one car and it seems to have only two men in the seats!" She reported. Sasuke stepped on the brake violently and the car surged ahead. Sakura's head slammed back against the head rest and she grimaced at the slight pain. "What the hell are they after?" she asked breathlessly.

Sasuke shook his head, "No clue." And he didn't know. They were Akatsuki agents but why were they after him? Had Madara double crossed him? He let out an oath and turned a corner sharply. The car followed with ease.

Sakura turned around, her face pale, "Step on it! Their gaining on us!" she called desperately.

Sasuke obliged her command and practically stomped on the gas pedal. Sakura was nearly thrown out of her seat by the sudden speed increase. Sasuke turned to her hoarsely, "Sakura put on the damn seatbelt!"

She ignored him, looking out of the window, "Of all the things right now, you would be worried about my seatbelt!" she yelled. "Maybe you should worry about how to evade them first!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he veered to the right only to be followed again by the persistent car

Sakura kept her eyes focused on the car behind them, "Make another right turn." She ordered.

He did as she said without asking, he didn't know what the hell her plan was but it was better than his nonexistent plan. He made the sharp right turn but again, the tailing car followed. However, Sasuke's had gotten further ahead. Sakura tsked, "Persistent, aren't you?" she murmured darkly.

He let out a growl as he saw from the rearview mirror that the car was not far behind them. Soon enough he felt the car hit the fender of his car. He hissed loudly, furious now. He began to back up into the car at full speed now, effectively crushing the enemy's bumper and stopping the car's movement. He got his gun out of the compartment and handed it to Sakura. He had to hurry before other people started getting involved.

She viewed the weapon in bewilderment but he didn't have time to explain why the hell he carried around a gun with him at all times. "Shoot the tires." He ordered. Sakura nodded and she swiftly leaned out of the window and with her sharp eyes, hit both tires on her first tries. She leaned back into her seat breathlessly, "Done." It was an easy shoot considering all her training at the FBI agency and Kurokage.

He nodded grimly, and then stepped on the gas pedal to speed ahead forward, leaving behind the crushed car. He glanced at her momentarily, "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

She hesitated, "Uh-been to the shooting range a couple of times with my friends." She shrugged. "Beginner's luck."

He chuckled, "Thank god for that." He sighed wearily and ran a hand through his hair, "Shit. That was a close one." He muttered under his breath as he turned into a random parking lot and pulled the key out of the ignition.

Sakura turned to him; "Y-you said you knew who they were…" she trailed off.

A lump formed in his throat. He had said he would tell her without thinking. He sighed and tried to summon the courage. It had to be now; he couldn't go on like this without telling her the truth. He owed her the truth. "Listen, what I'm about to tell you, "her eyes widened, "It's something that I regret and I wished I had never done. You have to know that." He pleaded and she merely nodded her eyes full of pain. "I-I, you see, Uchiha Corporation has a secret sector. It's the corrupt part of the company which eliminates threats and its run by Uchihas. They train hit men within the Uchiha family and well," he swallowed, there was no easy way to say this, "I'm—"

"-Akatsuki." Sasuke's head shot up to face the woman. "You're Akatsuki." Her voice trembled. She inhaled sharply, "I know." Her fists were clenched together tightly.

Sasuke looked at her stunned, "How did you figure it out?" he shook his head, that wasn't important. "Look, I know you're probably disgusted by the fact that I used to be a trained killer but I've cut my ties with them. I'm no longer—"he stopped as he saw her silently crying, her eyes downcast. "Sakura, are you okay?" he asked softly.

She shook her head, "S-Sasuke," her voice was hoarse, "I-I knew about it. I-I was assigned to—"she couldn't talk her throat closed as she tried to explain.

Sasuke held her by the shoulders as he looked at her frantically, "Sakura, shh, it's fine, just calm down."

Sakura came out of his grasp and she reached into her jacket to pull out something. When Sasuke saw it his heart immediately dropped. She handed the gun to him, her body still shaking. Sasuke numbly took the gun and saw the gold Kurokage symbol emblazoned on the gun. His mind raced, _no. It couldn't be. She wasn't. She couldn't be. _

She tried to form a coherent statement, "I-I was the Kurokage agent sent by Anko." She whispered. "I was sent to seduce you and steal data from the archives. I was the agent that was sent to protect Akihiko Noriko. I was the one-that shot you." Her voice cracked as she confessed her betrayal.

Sasuke moved back, away from her pleading face. He shook his head in denial, "No." he whispered. "No!" he growled. "From the very beginning, you lied to me. You were the enemy." He hissed out, disgusted at her confession.

Sakura leaned forward, "I lied to you about who I was! I admit that! But I'm not Kurokage! You have it all wrong!" she tried desperately.

Sasuke snarled at her, all the feeling gone from his body. "Sakura!" he let out a bitter chuckle. "You just handed me a Kurokage gun! You just admitted that Anko sent you!" he accused.

Sakura shook her head once more, "I-I'm a mole for the FBI!" she declared close to tears. That made Sasuke falter and she used the pause to explain herself. "I told you that I lived in America and that's true. I underwent training there and I came back to Japan to infiltrate Kurokage. You used to be Akatsuki so you understand why I had to lie about everything, don't you?" she begged.

Sasuke couldn't believe that she was FBI and that fact alone made Sasuke want to forgive her but; she had tricked him, made him think that she had actually liked him when Anko had played on his feelings. He growled, "You lied to me about more than that. You played with my feelings." He accused her with glaring eyes.

Sakura's jade eyes flashed, "From the beginning, I thought it was just another seduction mission, I admit that. But, I genuinely started to like you, back at the Red Dragon Hotel; my orders were to kill anybody who interfered. I couldn't bring myself to kill you. Especially after I remembered our childhood the last thing I wanted to do was to get you mixed up in all of this."

Sasuke's head hurt and his lungs squeezed. Even though she had admitted to all of this, he still felt betrayed and hurt. He closed his eyes, "Did you use me to steal archive information?" he asked softly. "Was it you who hacked into the database?

She flinched and slowly nodded, "I had to." Her voice broke.

Sasuke couldn't stand being in the car for another second, "Damn it, Sakura!" he hit the wheel and he got up out of the car.

She looked alarmed, "Wait! Sasuke! I had a duty to fulfill. This is my job, I have always had to do this!" her stomach dropped and she tried to make him understand frantically.

His dark eyes bored into her jade eyes, "If your job requires you to play with my feelings and lie to me about every single thing that you do…then count me out." He replied softly. He turned to walk away, striding down the sidewalk, leaving in the direction of Uchiha Corporations.

Sakura was paralyzed as she watched him walked away. Her fingers numbly went to her cheeks and she felt the tears dripping down harder now. _Please, please, turn around. _But he just kept on walking, walking and walking till he was out of her sight. Her blood went cold and an utter sense of emptiness filled her. Her eyes were blank as she gazed out the window, what was she going to do now? She couldn't go back to anybody. Not Ino, she didn't want to have to face her. Not Tenten, Sasuke would probably tell Tenten of her betrayal. And she certainly could not go back to Kurokage or the FBI.

Dread filled her stomach and she stepped out of the car with her makeup smudged and tears still running down her cheeks. She trudged along the pavement not caring about whom she ran into and then she turned into an alleyway. A shortcut that she knew about from her days of running around the streets of Tokyo. She continued down the dim pathway and then she heard a shuffle of feet before somebody swung at her head with a thick object. She fell to the ground with a sharp cry, her body slamming down into a puddle. Her mind went hazy as she tried to fight back at her assailant. Her hopes were futile as her eyes unconsciously closed and everything went black.

* * *

**Akatsuki Headquarters**

**3:12 PM**

Madara took the cup of tea proffered to him and he sipped it with an air of satisfaction. He laughed to himself, he had set up one of the greatest plans today and he was anxious to see how it would turn out. He heard loud footsteps coming from outside his office door and the protests of his secretary. He called out, "It's alright Konan, let them in." he chuckled; he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Sure enough the prodigy of the Uchihas stormed in, his face dark with anger. "You." He spat out.

Madara leaned back amusedly, "Yes, it's me. What did you want to talk about?"

Sasuke snarled at him, his anger released, "You sent a tracking agent after me. Did you now that I was with somebody?" he demanded.

Madara's eyebrow rose, "On the contrary, the tracking agent was sent after your girlfriend. Sakura Haruno. "Sasuke's blood went cold as he heard her name. The tracking agent was sent after her? Did that mean that Madara knew about Sakura being an FBI agent? Madara continued, "I was looking through the roster of your employees and I did some in-depth research. I also had somebody tail her and find some things out for me."

Sasuke's eyes flashed, "You didn't." he stated flatly.

He chuckled, "I did." He reached into a folder and handed it to Sasuke, "Here you go. This is what your girlfriend does for a hobby. Serve Anko Mitirashi.". Relief unconsciously flooded Sasuke's body. So Madara still had no clue about Sakura's ties to the FBI. He retained his mask of shock and opened the folder.

Sasuke frowned as he examined snapshots of Sakura meeting with a dark haired man whose face was concealed by a high collar and glasses. "Who's he?" he asked curiously.

"Shino Aburame. He is a known operative for Kurokage." He replied simply.

Sasuke looked up and then slammed the folder down on Madara's desk, the contents spilling out. "I already knew this." He growled.

Madara's eyes widened, "Oh? How did you deal with the situation." He crossed his arms with interest.

Sasuke shrugged, "Well, after we managed to evade the tracker agent you sent after us." He glared. "I had told her that I knew about her real ties with Anko. I threatened to kill her and that did it, she just left." He replied quite plainly. Lying to Madara came easier.

Madara's mouth curved downwards, unsatisfied at the lack of action in his story. "That was it?" he replied. "Huh. I wanted it to turn out more interesting." He pouted.

Sasuke snarled, "My life is not for you to control and make things more 'interesting'! Stay out of my business and leave Sakura alone! I've already dealt with her." His eyes gleamed dangerously in the light making them appear almost a dark ruby.

Madara had to chuckle, he really was the prodigy of Uchihas. He held up his hands in defense, "As you wish Sasuke-san." He grinned. "Konan!" he called, "Please escort Sasuke out. I have more important things to deal with."

Sasuke gave him once last growl before turning and exiting out the door that Konan held open for him. "Stay out of my business." He repeated in a low voice and he stepped out of Madara's office.

Madara's brows furrowed as he thought where to proceed from there. It all depended on if his men were successful. As if on cue, his phone let out a trill and he picked it up quickly, "Hello? I trust you have good news." He spoke dryly.

"Of course, Madara-sama, we have secured Sakura Haruno. She's in the trunk of our car as we speak." The henchman let out a satisfied snicker. "Should I proceed as we planned? With her death?"

Madara mulled over the thought. Should he exterminate the girl or should he use her to bait Sasuke? He smiled; keeping the girl alive would make things much more interesting. "No." he spoke slowly. "I want you to deliver her here. There's been a change of plans."

"Alright, boss. Whatever you say." He answered boredly and then he hung up with a click of the phone line.

Madara slid the phone back onto his desk and he called for his secretary. "Konan!"

The blue haired woman came in, currently holding a paper crane in one hand. "Yes?"

"Contact Anko from Kurokage, I think she would be interested in knowing that we have her ace assassin over here. Ask her if she would come over for a little party, yes?" he smirked gleefully.

_Finally, some entertainment for his own personal enjoyment. He couldn't wait._

* * *

**A/N: Hey, hey, hey! I do believe that this is chapter 18! Cheers! I do believe I managed to update within less than a week, OY! NEW RECORD! Sooo…happy early July Fourth! As a present I hand you an extra-looong chapter :) Maybe you can return the favor and PLEASE REVIEW? PRETTY PLEASE? **

**Thank you to ALL you reviewed I enjoyed reading ALL of them. I'm relieved that you guys enjoyed the plot twist and rest assured there is another HUUUUGEEE plot twist coming as well, so look forward to that. **

**For some reason….there's going to be less chapters than I expected. I overestimated…my bad. I think there's only going to be about 3 or 4 more chapters. Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW and thank you to all who have continued to support me! Much appreciated :)**

**UNTIL THEN, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Unmasked**

_A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act._

Kurokage Headquarters

4:02 PM

Anko's phone buzzed on the armrest and outstretching her slender fingers she picked it up with an air of boredom, "Hello?"

"My my, I'm surprised you even picked up." A low voice chuckled dryly.

Anko sat straight up as she recognized the dark voice, "Madara." She hissed. She was still rather angry about him double-crossing her on the business deal. After all, that was why she had sent Haruno in the first place.

"I think you'd be interested in knowing that I have your little mole here." He laughed, "She was the pretty picture, before my men got to her. Sakura Haruno is her name I believe."

A chill traveled down Anko's spine. Sakura had allowed herself to get caught? Anger shook through her body. "Huh. Took you a while to notice." Her lips curved into a wicked smile.

"Yes, yes. I admit that I only caught the leak after she had infiltrated the database AND managed to get little Sasuke to fall under her charms. She's a sneaky one."

"Well, what about it?" she asked haughtily.

"Well, what about it?" he repeated with surprise. "Don't you want your girl back?"

"Kill her if you wish." Anko stated flatly. "She's no use to me anymore." And that was true. Sakura's use had worn out after she had let her guard down.

Madara laughed heartily. "Anko dear, this is exactly why I admire you! Your cold-bloodiness is unrivaled!" he praised. "Well, let us strike a deal at least."

She smirked, "I'm listening."

"I'll look past your wicked ways of planting a mole within my company AND give you a percentage of Uchiha Corporation's profit if you allow me to use this girl's life. She could be of use to me." He speculated.

She snorted, "All right. I'll be down there. I want in-depth reports of this profit you are giving me. You've cheated me before, remember?" she retorted icily.

"I haven't forgotten." He smiled. "I'll see you soon, Anko. Pleasure doing business with you." And then connection was broken.

Anko threw her phone down in slight frustration. "Bastard." She muttered under her breath.

Shino, who sat on a nearby couch, raised an eyebrow, "Something the matter?" He was quite amused at the events going on in Kurokage lately. He didn't dare chuckle in front of his superior, however.

Anko whipped around to face her right-hand man, "Madara." She said simply. "Madara has Haruno." Surprise flickered into Shino's eyes. Sakura had been compromised? That was highly unusual of a capable assassin like her.

Her lips pursed together tightly, "Do you know what this means?"

He shrugged lackadaisically, "That Haruno is in trouble and we have to help?" Haruno was one of Anko's most valued combatants. Surely she would help Sakura instead of casting her aside like some pawn.

Anko sneered. "It depends. Madara wants to negotiate with me." She let out a little laugh; "He's offered me part of Uchiha Corporation's profits…" she trailed off, musing silently.

Shino rolled his eyes. Of course, Anko was never the compassionate one. Business always trumped the lives of those around her. He shook his head, poor Haruno. "So you won't negotiate it in a matter that Sakura will end up alive, will you?" his tone was flat, as if he already knew the answer.

Anko scoffed, "Of course not. An operative that allows herself to be captured is of no use to me." She picked up her car keys that lay on the glass table beside her. She tossed them up in the air and caught them expertly. "I'm not exactly in a generous mood today." She sighed and then left the room, leaving Shino to his own thoughts.

He shook his head, "When are you ever?" he muttered.

* * *

Tokyo Police Department

4:22 PM

For the first time in his life, Sasuke Uchiha would now gladly admit that he had been an insensitive jerk. He ran a hand through his hair and let out an aggravated sigh. Had he really been as stupid as to walk away from the one person he needed the most right now? God, know he knew why Naruto always criticized him for being close-minded. In that one moment he had lost all perspective and hadn't paid attention to why Sakura had betrayed him and didn't listen to her side. He had walked away and left her in the middle of Tokyo. He had wanted to call her, but he had left his phone in the car and chances were, Sakura had probably walked away from the car as well. However, he had gone here, to the police department for some answers. He knew that the FBI agents, Temari, in particular hung around this area and he wanted them to tell him things about Sakura.

"Eh? Teme?" The all-too familiar raucous voice called from behind. He turned around to face Naruto who peered at him with curious blue eyes. "What are you doing here? It's a Saturday."

He smiled wearily, "Ah, no. I need to speak to Temari. She's here right?"

Naruto's eyebrows rose. "You want to speak to Temari? Usually you avoid her, what's going on?" he asked curiously.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun!" a bright voice chirped and he saw Ino walking towards him accompanied by Tenten. He frowned, what was Tenten doing here? He'd rather not get her mixed up in this FBI vs. Kurokage mess.

Tenten also frowned as she caught sight of her boss/friend, "Hey, are you visiting too?" she asked innocently. "I was just catching up with Ino; it's a slow day so she invited me over. By the way, where's Hinata? I haven't seen her in a long time." She mused.

Naruto's mood darkened, "She-uh-had to leave suddenly." He tried to change the subject, "Teme-did you want anything to drink?"

He rolled his eyes, "No, I'm not here to sip tea and relax. Where's Temari?" his voice rose as his frustration grew.

"I'm right here." She came from behind him with an amused tone. He turned to face Temari who was flanked by her two brothers, Gaara and Kankuro. There was another person trailing behind that he did not recognize who had a black spiky ponytail and a tired, lazy expression. "What could the high and mighty Uchiha possibly want from me?" she asked with a sly smile.

The unidentified man let out a snort, "So this is Uchiha, eh? Troublesome." He muttered.

Sasuke's eyebrow arched, "Who is this?"

"Shikamaru Naara." He replied dryly.

Temari waved the man away, "Forget about him. What do you need?" she asked sharply.

Sasuke looked down at her arrogantly, "Sakura Haruno." Temari flinched at the name, "I know she's working with you guys." Everybody in the room turned to Sasuke in shock.

Naruto's eyes grew wide, "Sakura-chan? But she's your secretary! She can't be an FBI agent." He proclaimed in disbelief. Tenten's mouth simply hung open and Ino was at a loss for words. Sakura was really an FBI agent.

Ino spoke up shaking her head, "C-c'mon, this is Sakura! In high school she couldn't kill a flea!" she laughed shakily.

Temari glanced at Gaara and Kankuro. Kankuro shrugged while Gaara gave a sharp nod. The blond FBI agent cleared her throat, "Who told you this?" she demanded.

Sasuke glowered at her with his dark eyes, "She told me." He answered flatly.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "I told you. I could tell by the way she was acting, she fell for this guy." He jabbed a finger in Sasuke's direction. "She was conflicted and wanted to stop lying after Chouji's death." He put his hands in his pocket and yawned. "I saw it all coming." He muttered.

Sasuke closed his eyes in irritation, "Okay, who is this guy?" he was peeved that there was somebody that knew Sakura's intentions before him.

Shikamaru shrugged, "I used to be a mole in Kurokage." Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise.

Temari whipped around and rebuked him, "Naara!" She was appalled. The man was linked to Akatsuki and here he was spouting off sensitive information!

He shrugged once more, "What does it matter? He already knows about Sakura. What's the harm?" he turned to Sasuke, "I was her undercover partner. I went into Kurokage with her; however, I got caught before her. No, I'm reduced to hiding out in her apartment." He gestured to Temari.

"Sucks." Sasuke murmured to which Temari responded with a death glare. "Anyways, I want to know about Sakura's true background." He demanded.

Temari smirked, "What makes you think that I'd tell you? You have ambiguous ties to—"

Naruto cut him off, "He works as a double agent for us. He cut off his ties with Akatsuki long ago." Ino nodded beside her partner.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow, "That so? Even if your allegiance has switched, what makes you think you're privy to information about our agents?"

Gaara let out a soft growl and everybody froze. "We did not come to Japan to start more fights." He hissed out. "If he wants to know, I don't see the trouble. It has nothing to do with us." He shrugged. "Temari, tell him what he wants to know and let's go. Our other agent is meeting with us soon." He reminded her.

She sighed in slight irritation but turned to Sasuke, "Alright. I'll tell you what I know, which isn't much." She replied. "Sakura came to her family household when we were all around sixteen years of age. Our father had told us that her parents had been killed and they had left him as her guardian."

Naruto butt in excitedly, "So you guys are all siblings, right?"

She nodded. "Correct. Anyways, my father didn't tell us himself, but we knew that it had been Anko that was responsible for Sakura's orphanage and that she wanted revenge. My father had encouraged that passion within her and nurtured it within the Chiame program which trained minors to become agents. "

Tenten frowned, "The Chiame program? What is that exactly?"

Ino answered her question, "It's a sub agency of the FBI which sends over some of its force to aid Japan's police forces. It was created as an alliance between Japan and the US. "

Temari continued, "When Sakura first came, she was mute. She didn't speak, didn't eat very much but over time, she grew accustomed to us. Gaara was the one who got her to speak to us. Unlike the three of us who grew up with violence being an everyday occurrence, she was uneasy around it. She did well on assignments but always had a conscience and it hindered her sometimes whenever she had an assassination to carry out. It got so bad, that she sabotaged a mission when she failed to kill the family of an oil tycoon. My father, being the head of the Chiame organization saw this and pulled Sakura out of the program. He told her that if she couldn't kill, then she wasn't fit to be in the program much less pursue her revenge against Anko. Sakura grew furious at his words. I remember, as I was in the same room. Her eyes narrowed and she told my father that she had what it took to get Anko." She paused, recalling the moment. "Sakura demanded that he give her another chance and he allowed it reluctantly. The next assassination mission, Sakura had completed it perfectly. After four years, she passed the training and my father sent her to Japan to infiltrate Kurokage. We've been building up data against Anko to send her to jail over the past weeks. However, we ran into a complication." She gestured to Shikamaru, "In addition to that, Sakura's conscience is resurfacing." She concluded. "That's all I really know about Sakura's past. I'm sure you and Ino know the rest, being her childhood friends." She added dryly.

Sasuke's stomach dropped as he heard Sakura's side of the story. It further confirmed the fact that he was an insensitive asshole. _God, Sakura, I'm sorry_. He thought regretfully. Sakura had gone through all that and he had just judged her on that one conversation. He turned to Naruto, "Ay, you dobe, can I borrow your phone?"

Naruto nodded and handed it to him, "Where the hell is yours?"

Sasuke shrugged, he wasn't going to go in detail about how he had gotten into a car chase, abandoned Sakura, walked to the bus stop and taken the bus to the police department. He dialed in Sakura's number, and then waited for her to pick up.

It went immediately to voice mail. He snapped the phone shut in frustration. Shit. She was probably pissed about what happened and wasn't going to answer any calls. He felt like a total idiot.

"Gaara, I thought we were meeting at 4:30?" a flat tone inquired behind Sasuke. The hairs on his neck stood up as he recognized the voice. It was Itachi. He spun around to see his brother standing with Sayuki at the front entrance, walking towards Gaara.

Itachi saw his brother first and tilted his head to the side, "Why, brother, what are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

Sasuke hissed, "I could ask you the same thing." His brother that abandoned him to work with Madara. The one he detested so very much. Sayuki rolled her eyes at the two brothers.

Temari grinned, her expression was one of pure amusement "He is also a mole for us as well. He works for us." She declared.

_Wait, what?_ Sasuke blinked twice. He was a mole? Exactly how many moles did the FBI have for god's sake!

Sayuki lifted up her eyes hesitantly, "I was going to tell you earlier." She tried to make the situation better.

Sasuke blinked again. Sayuki too? The hell? Who worked for whom? First, his girlfriend admits that she was Kurokage but that she also works for the FBI and know his brother walks in who he thought was a hardcore Madara-lover reveals that he works for the FBI and so does his girlfriend, Sayuki. Holy hell, did anybody actually work for the person they say they do? Obviously not.

Itachi smirked at him, "Why do you look so surprised, eh? Little Sasuke?" he teased.

"All this time, you left me to go work with Madara!" he sputtered.

Itachi shook his head, "Correction, little brother. I was working with Madara to help you." He emphasized.

"Y-you could have told me!" he protested.

"And spoil the fun, little brother?"

"Stop calling me that." He ordered in an annoyed tone. Only his older brother could rile him up like this.

Sayuki watched the two brothers from afar and smiled to herself. The two brothers that had supposedly hated each other know arguing in a brotherly fashion. She smiled at their reconciliation-er-well if it could be called that. They had a lot to catch up on. She smirked as she watched them continue to bicker. They really were the true definition of brotherly love.

* * *

Akatsuki Headquarters

4:59 PM

Sakura's eyes fluttered open and the first sensation that she felt was that of the cold concrete pressing against her flushed cheek. Her fingers moved just a little bit yet the person surveying her, saw the tiny little movement.

"Ah, you're finally awake." The man sounded pleased. Sakura looked up, her vision still blurred. Finally her sight focused and she saw a thin man with scraggly black hair and amused eyes standing above her. His identity came to her quickly, Madara Uchiha. Her fingers clenched together and she tried to sit up but her head began to spin and she slumped once more onto the concrete. The damn drug was still in her system!

"Now, let's not to be hasty here, I have just a few questions and then I can kill you. Let's take our time, ne?" he smirked down at her. Sakura's heart faltered. There was nobody that could save here now. She was all on her own; she was going to die by herself.

She dragged herself up and managed to prop her back against the steel wall and looked at her surroundings through her blurred vision. It seemed to be a basement of sorts and she could see the exit which was a steel door that presumably led to stairs. Her nose was filled with a pungent order and she nearly gagged. "M-Madara." She started weakly, her voice was hoarse. "You plan to kill me?"

The elderly man shrugged, "Well, yes. That is what we agreed and negotiated on."

Sakura frowned, her vision was now returning ever so slowly to her. "We?"

He grinned, "Of course. I couldn't do anything without your mentor's consent could I?" he smirked and then gestured in the direction of the shadows. Out stepped Anko with her gleaming lavender eyes and trademark, wicked smile.

"Anko." She hissed as she realized what Anko had done. Anko had made no attempt to rescue her life and instead bartered her life for some amount of money that Madara had agreed to give her. She chuckled inwardly; it was karma for being a mole. It was also so predictable for Anko to not care about her. After all, it was Anko. The woman who had murdered her parents in cold blood.

"Sakura…" she purred. "Very sorry to turn on you like this." She sighed regretfully, "You were useful while you lasted." Sakura let out a laugh as she heard this which surprised Anko. "What's so funny?" she asked sharply.

Anko almost looked stricken, like there was something that she didn't know. Madara merely observed Sakura carefully but she didn't give a damn now. She was going to die in a damp basement with her hated enemy right in front of her. She might as well get the last laugh from the woman who had taken everything from her.

Sakura chuckled and turned her head to look at Anko directly. Her eyes narrowed slyly, "You never found out…" she laughed softly. "You're one of the most cunning women in crime and yet I managed to deceive you. All those years that you called me 'useful' while I leaked all your secrets to the FBI." Her lips curved upwards as she watched Anko go pale.

Anko snarled and barred her teeth, "You too?" and then realization flickered in her eyes, "You were working with Naara, weren't you?" Anko's face went tight with anger and a vein appeared on her forehead.

The pinkette snickered, "Of course. Who else, but your 'useful', loyal servant Sakura Haruno? You brought this on yourself you know?" she whispered softly. "It's fair retribution for the death of my parents."

Anko's eyes narrowed dangerously, "This was all about revenge?" her voice shook,  
"Ha! You should know that I kill so many people that I don't even bother remembering them!" she sneered, her eyes wild.

"Agent Taka of the FBI." Sakura's voice rang clearly. "You killed him and his wife at his house because he had killed one of your valued men. I was his child." Her voice was cold as she recounted the events to the murderer.

The leader of Kurokage froze as she recognized the description, "So, he had a daughter." She hissed. "Come to take revenge for your daddy?" she asked humorlessly.

Sakura smirked at the woman, "Already did. I have been for the past four years." She spat out. "You were just too stupid to notice."

Anko smacked Sakura's cheek hard and Sakura fell to the ground with a little gasp of surprise. "Like father, like daughter." She snarled. "Both of you were cunning, conniving and thought you could best me. A little too ambitious, don't you think?" she kicked Sakura in the stomach but the girl remained silent.

Sakura looked up at the woman with a glint in her eyes, "In the end it is you who lost. My purpose is done. I have managed to steal information from Kurokage without your knowledge. Kill me if you wish." She taunted her.

Anko let out a manic laugh, "Child, you should have just kept hidden from me." She giggled and pulled out her gun. She cocked the gun once and Sakura's heart stopped for that second. She really was going to die. In this cold cell, killed by Anko. She wanted to live, she wanted to tell Sasuke, Ino, Tenten, Naruto, Hinata, everybody that she was sorry for lying. She wanted to see Shikamaru one last time to know that he was safe. She wanted to see Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro to apologize for failing them. Her fingers clenched together, she still had so much and yet it was going to be all gone when Anko pulled the trigger.

Madara stepped forward and spoke warningly, "Anko." Anko paused and turned around to snap at the Uchiha.

Sakura used her moment of hesitation and grabbed a hold of Anko's leg and pulled her down using what strength she had left. The force was enough for Anko to fall on the ground, her gun clattering beside her. Madara let out a hiss and pulled out his own gun but Sakura, quick on her feet, pulled Anko's body up to use as a shield from his bullets. He faltered for a second and Sakura scrambled for Anko's gun in his hesitation. She pushed Anko off her body and lunged for the elderly man, jumping on him making him drop his gun in his surprise. She caught the gun in her empty hand and she brought it up to smack Madara in the jaw. He fell to the ground and she stood with one gun in each hand. The right gun pointed at Madara, and the left gun pointed at Anko.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, allowing her to block out the pain and focused solely on the two villains in front of her. The drug she had been given earlier had now loss its effect and her vision was as sharp as ever.

She cocked the right gun. "This is for playing with my life." she panted out to Madara who was on the ground trying to compose himself. She smirked inwardly, there's no escape.

She cocked the left gun, "This is for my parents, who you so gladly killed in cold-blood." Anko glared up as she was crumpled on the floor. "Goodbye, Anko-sama."

Both fingers were poised on the trigger and she was about to shoot them dead when a cold voice came from behind her and she heard the cocking of another gun. "Drop both guns or I shoot." The voice was unfamiliar to Sakura at first because she couldn't believe it would be her. It couldn't be her. There was just no way. The hair on Sakura's arms prickled upwards and she slowly bent down to place the guns down. She stood back up with her arms raised. Anko and Madara were now smirking with relief as they saw who stood had come to their aid.

Madara stood up with a cocky expression and signaled for the savior to come to his side. Sakura's heart pounded as the person came into her vision and betrayal was the only thing that came to her mind. Sakura desperately tried to convince herself that it was not that person who had betrayed her for Madara and Anko. But it was useless. The signature silky blue locks and pale cerulean eyes that stared back coldly were all too familiar. It was her.

Madara smiled and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Sakura, let me be the first to introduce you. This is my mole within the Tokyo Police Department...Hinata Hyuuga."

**A/N: "GASP" WHY HINATA? All will be revealed in the next chapter :) heheheh. So this chapter is very short as you might have noticed. I apologize HAHA but don't worry the finale is drawing near and that promises to be somewhat lengthy :) Let's see…hmmm…oh yes! Chapter 20 will lead up to the finale and Chapter 21 is the final chapter of course…yes…very sad :( AAAND when I update, chapter 21 will be accompanied by an epilogue as well which will be in a separate chapter.**

**I've planned out the grand finale and I hope you guys will enjoy it, there's a lot going on in that chapter so please look forward to it! There's going to be some foreign languages, kissin', disguises, weaponry, psychotic people, AAAND…an effeminate Gaara. That's right. If there's something to look forward to this is it. CHEERS!**

**THAAANK YOU to all you wonderful reviewers who have put up with me and my stupid plot twists :) PLEASE REVIEW this chapter and thank you ALL very much.**

**BEST OF WISHES,**

**WRITER4EVERR **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: On the Edge**

_Here, the king does not matter. The queen can live without him. For the queen, there is no such thing as 'checkmate'._

_Previously:_

_Madara smiled and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Sakura, let me be the first to introduce you. This is my mole within the Tokyo Police Department...Hinata Hyuuga."_

_5:21 PM_

No. It was impossible. Not Hinata. Not her. How could she? Why would she? Sakura looked desperately at her friend to see any trace of regret or remorse but there was nothing. Only the hard eyes that only conveyed coldness and scorn.

Sakura swallowed, trying to force oxygen down her throat. "H-Hinata, why?" she whispered hoarsely.

Hinata turned to her with cold eyes, "Oh, please!" she snapped out. "This saintly act of yours is sickening me! Are you just going to pretend like you haven't been deceiving everybody else for the past months?" she sneered at her.

A shiver ran down Sakura's spine. This was not Hinata. Hinata was sweet and innocent. Hinata did not sneer, did not snap at people. Hinata would never work with Madara! She desperately tried to convince herself that the person in front of her was not Hinata.

Madara let out a delightful laugh, "Oh, so you know each other? This makes things so much more entertaining!" he clapped his hands together childishly.

Sakura spoke up, her eyes focused on Hinata, "You're working for Madara! I was working for the FBI; my intentions were different than yours." She retorted.

Hinata just laughed bitterly, "You make me sick." She hissed out. "You think that just because you work for the FBI, everybody's going to let you pass by scot-free, don't you? Well, I have my reasons for working with Madara as well."

The rosette looked up surprised, "And what are those?" she asked curiously.

Anko now spoke, "Enough chitchat!" she snarled. "Let's kill Sakura already!" she demanded impatiently.

Madara nodded, "I concur with you Anko-sama! Hinata," he clapped her shoulder, "Excellent job. When I first recruited you, I was hesitant, but it seems you have proved yourself." He smiled maliciously, "I leave her life in your hands. Do, make it entertaining; I'll be watching the performance." Laughed gleefully and gestured for Anko to follow him.

Anko stood up and glared at Madara, "You are just going to have Hinata kill Sakura? I doubt she'll be able to do it." She smirked at the petite Hyuuga while Hinata just glared back at her coldly.

"Madara-san, allow me the honor of killing Haruno. I was the one who caught her." Hinata demanded. "Shouldn't that give me the right to?"

Madara turned to Anko, "Let her kill Haruno. I have faith that she will, she knows the consequences if she will." He grasped Anko's long fingers, "Come, and let us watch the show, eh?" He pulled along the cunning woman and they exited the basement. Sakura heard the heavy lock turn as he locked the door leaving just the two of them in the room.

Sakura breathed heavily as she viewed the gun in Hinata's hands. "H-Hinata…" she started but saw that the woman wasn't even looking at her. She stared intently at the door, her ear perked up. After a moment, Hinata let out a strangled sob and she threw her arms around Sakura's neck, completely catching the girl off guard. "Hinata?"

Hinata released Sakura from her iron grip and stared at her, "We have to hurry!" she whispered fiercely. "We only have a 3 minute window until Madara will start watching us from the surveillance cams. "

Sakura could just stare at Hinata; she was back to her normal self. The harshness was gone from her eyes and replaced with a fierce determination. "Hinata, what happened? Why are you with Madara?"

Hinata shook her head, "I'll just tell you the basic story, I only have a few moments to tell you the escape plan." Sakura nodded hurriedly and urged her blue-haired friend to continue. "I-It was a couple of years back at Uchiha Corporations, I was visiting Tenten-chan and she sent me to go get some things for her in the storage room." She let out a shaky laugh, "Believe it or not, I got lost and I found this corridor that I thought was an exit but it led me to the fifth floor."

A shiver went up Sakura's spine, the fifth floor. That was where Akatsuki was headquartered at.

"I-I, I went into what I thought was the storage room and then I heard footsteps. So I hid and then from my hiding place I saw Madara and Itachi walk in to the room. They were talking about new members and Itachi was arguing that his brother shouldn't be and he suggested Neji instead. By then, I had figured out that they were Akatsuki, and I realized even faster that they wanted to persuade Neji to join this organization. At that time, Neji was already emotionally fragile. His father had died; he had a big blowout with my father. Neji was going to be very easy to breakable to them."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, they had wanted to recruit Neji?

"When I heard what they were planning, I was shocked and horrified that I moved back. I was terrified out of my mind, but they heard me move. They discovered me, hiding and Madara-"she broke off with a shudder, "He was talking about playing with me, using me for entertainment. The idea came to me then, that I would take Neji's place. I would prevent him from being corrupted by Akatsuki. All my life he had taken care of me, so it was now my time to return the favor. I lied to Madara, told him that I wanted to join him. At first he just laughed at me, and I responded with absolute hatred that he looked at him again and told me that I was 'entertaining'." She glared in disgust at the memory. "He agreed because he thought it would be funny to see me fail. I told him that if I joined, he would keep his paws off of Neji and he agreed to the deal if I carried out a mission for him. And so I did. That changed my life." She whispered softly. "I had things to hide from everybody. I stayed away from Neji, because Akatsuki kept tabs on me. I didn't want them to be interested in Neji or even see him. Ever since I made that deal with Madara, I've had to do things that I regret, but it was all for—"

"—for Neji." Sakura finished, her eyes welling up at her friend's confession. Hinata nodded and she clenched Sakura's hand tightly. Sakura couldn't believe how much Hinata sacrificed just for the sake of Neji. Her heart ached, what had she gotten everybody into?

Hinata straightened up, "We can reflect later." She whispered. "I need to tell you how you're going to escape; I only have just a minute now." Sakura nodded and brushed the tears away. "We're going to have a little brawl."

Sakura stopped, "No way. I can't hurt you." She whispered out fiercely.

She shook her head firmly, "We have to make this realistic. Plus, I'll goad you on. It'll make it easier for you to fight me. Now, after you knock me out. Search my cardigan for the key and escape through the door. Take the left and instead of continuing down the hallway, break the window and escape through there. Run along the road from there until you get to the gas station. I hired somebody to wait there for you. He'll drive you back to the police station."

Sakura nodded and listened intently. She hesitated, "W-what about you?" she asked worriedly.

Hinata shrugged, "Madara will probably get mad but if we perform right, he'll think that you just overpowered me."

Sakura shook her head, "It's too risky! He might kill you!" she whispered hard.

Hinata smiled, "Well, you'll just have to rescue me later then, ne?" she put on a calm façade but Sakura could see the apprehension in her pale eyes.

Sakura swallowed, she knew that Hinata could die if they proceeded with her plan but if they didn't act now, both of them would die. She nodded her head, "Let's do this." She squeezed her friend's hand once and let go, preparing to put on a show for Madara and Anko.

Hinata backed away and held the gun at the ready. She started counting down, "5…4…3…2…1…"

Sakura started first, trying to summon the right amount of anger, "How could you do this Hinata? We all trusted you! Naruto, Sasuke, Tenten, Ino, Sai! How can you just turn your backs on us?" she demanded, her eyes blazing.

Hinata let out a bitter laugh, "As if you can act all holy!" her voice was full of scorn and it pierced Sakura. Sheesh, Hinata deserved an Oscar. "You're the one that broke Sasuke's heart. You're the one that lied to your 'best friend' Ino. You lied to everybody! Your friends AND enemies!" snarling she socked Sakura with her fist.

Sakura braced herself as she saw the fist swinging towards her. The pain came quickly and subsided almost immediately. She glared at Hinata, "I was FBI! I had to lie for a good reason!" she insisted. She moved to punch Hinata in the stomach but Hinata easily dodged it.

The blue haired girl smirked, "C'mon, don't tell me that's all you got?" she mocked. "You're FBI? Good for you. Do you expect people to give you a free pass in life just because of that?" she scoffed. "Please, you're just a hollow puppet walking around. You kill for somebody. You lie for somebody. You're just a tool for somebody to throw away." She spat out.

Her words goaded Sakura on and Sakura felt herself losing it. She lunged at Hinata and tackled her to the floor, "Don't you dare talk about me like you know me! Our relationship started on lies! That's all our friendship was!" Sakura growled. She knocked the gun out of Hinata's hand and it skidded away on the floor.

Hinata just looked up at her with a wicked look full of malice and Sakura shivered. "Mommy and Daddy are in their graves. They can't help you. They're dead." She chuckled darkly. Hinata gave her a look, _Do it now! Knock me out, Sakura! Escape!_

For theatrical effect, Sakura let out a high-pitched shriek of fury and she clawed Hinata lightly. She punched Hinata once on the head, just enough to knock her out. She threw a glance at the surveillance camera and shot it a smug look. She dug into Hinata's cardigan and found the key as she promised. Sakura hurriedly got up and grabbed Hinata's gun before heading for the exit. She inserted the key in and her hands clammy with sweat almost dropped they key. Using her shoulder, she opened the door and saw the hallway that led to her freedom. She took a left and continued down the hallway, her legs flying out from underneath her. She heard the storming of footsteps, Madara and Anko were probably livid by now. Reaching the window she used the gun to break it open. Before she stepped outside she glanced back one last time.

_Wait for me, Hinata_. She thought desperately, _don't you dare die on me!_

_Minutes later…_

Anko let out another shriek of fury as she viewed the broken window. She turned to the nearest guard and she shoved him to the ground, "You idiots!" she hissed out. "How could you let one girl escape you?" Her fingers clawed together, she wanted to tear his eyeballs out.

The guard stuttered, "She took the shortcut. She moved too fast!" he protested.

She smacked another guard, hard. Her fingernails clawed his cheek, "Excuses!" she spat out angrily. "All of you are incompetent!"

"Now, now, Anko." Madara's soothing voice came. "This is shaping to be quite entertaining." He tried to appease the furious woman.

She whipped around to face the man, "You too! You let the girl alone with Sakura! Do you know how unskillful Hinata is compared to the likes of Sakura? You were stupid enough to think that Sakura would go quietly!" she accused.

Madara shook his head, "I was hoping that she would escape, on the contrary." Anko narrowed her eyes at his words. "If Sakura had just died like that, how fun would that be?" he asked with mirth in his tone. "This way, it's much more exciting, don't you think Anko?"

She crossed her arms, "Huh. You and your sick sense of humor, what do we do with Hinata? I'm almost certain the two of them worked together. I say we kill her. She won't provide anymore entertainment."

Madara laughed and shook his head once more. "You're wrong again, Anko. We can use this to our advantage. Have Haruno come to us, with the promise of returning Hinata. Sakura, being oh-so-saint-like will do anything to get her friend back. I say we set up a stage and have her come and rescue Hinata. We can kill the both of them that way, eh?" he suggested.

Anko's lips curved upwards at the thought. "Very, well, I like that idea." She chuckled. "I have the perfect stage." She winked.

"Oh?" Madara questioned with some interest.

"The Koizumi Banquet, its tomorrow at 8 pm. The four Koizumi siblings of Koizumi Corporations always hold this annual banquet of some sorts. They invited me this year; rather they invited my alias, Anya Arihime. It's a perfect place to lure them over. I'm just itching to see how they'll get through security." She threw her head back in laughter.

Madara had a quiet smile, "As you wish. Set the preparations for tomorrow. I'll deal with Hyuuga." His expression hardened and he walked back, his eyes glinting dangerously.

Anko smirked, "Don't go to hard, remember we need her for tomorrow's plan." She reminded.

He merely shrugged, "I'll try not to kill her." And with that he disappeared into the shadows, ready to exact punishment on the Hyuuga.

_Outskirts of Tokyo_

_5:51 PM_

Sakura's legs ached and her lungs felt like they were on fire as she sprinted into the busy city. She was a sight to behold. Her hair was in tangles, after running through forests, her face was smeared with makeup, dirt and blood. Her clothes were ripped and partially stained with blood. As she sprinted down the pavement, people glanced at her warily. She didn't give a damn about them; she needed to reach to the police department. She needed to get back and time to help Hinata. Her heart gave another lurch and her stomach churned, if something happened to Hinata, she would never be able to forgive herself.

She spotted the indigo building immediately, with its bright sign that read "Tokyo Police Department" and she let out a quick sight of relief. _One thing done a million more to go_. She thought grimly. She burst in through the doors only to catch sight of all her friends standing at the front doors. Her hear plummeted as she saw Sasuke standing there conversing with Itachi.

_Sasuke_, she thought sadly. _He doesn't understand. We're supposed to be enemies. Are we really not meant to be together?_ She asked herself. And then she realized, she'd have to tell Ino, Tenten, and Naruto. She'd have to admit that she had been lying to them.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice came with disbelief. Sakura turned slowly and then she felt arms thrown around her neck as her friend embraced her. She heard a weird, strangled sound and then realized with surprise that Ino was crying. She stared at everybody else. They were merely staring at her with their eyes full of different emotions. Sasuke now, had been alerted to her presence and he stared wordlessly at her. She was almost afraid to look into his eyes, but saw that they were not at all angry. He looked at her almost pleadingly.

"I-I-I" Sakura stammered trying to find the right words to speak.

Ino let out another wail, "Sakura! I'm the worst!" she hugged the pinkette closer to her. "I never noticed how you were acting! I was stupid to see that you were hurting." Her voice was muffled as she buried her face in Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura gently peeled the blonde off her body, "Ino," her eyes were wide with shock, "What are you talking about? Do you know—"

Ino punched her on the shoulder, her eyes were glistening with tears, "Of course I know, baka! You're a freaking FBI agent! How come you never told me that! All this time…." She trailed off and just started crying again. Sai came over and with a sigh handed her a tissue. "Thanks, Sai-kun." She blubbered.

Tenten came up to her and smiled, "Shikamaru-kun told us." Sakura's mouth opened as her partner came up from behind with a slight smile. "He told us everything! We're so sorry that we didn't see it earlier." She gave Sakura a kind hug and smiled brightly. Naruto also came up with an apologetic look and gave her a friendly hug and pat on the shoulder.

Sakura couldn't speak. Why were they sorry? They weren't the ones that had lied about everything! "I-I don't think you guys understand." She started in a small voice, "I lied to you guys. About everything." She tried to clarify. They should be acting more like how Sasuke did.

Naruto grinned, "Yeah, you did. But, Shikamaru explained everything. I mean, you had to do it right? We understand that. We're your friends, we'll always be there." A mischievous glint came to his eyes, "I was pretty shocked though. I mean, the weak secretary was actually a crime-fighting—"

Tenten cut in, "What Naruto means to say is that we understand why you did what you had to do. Who wouldn't understand that?"

Naruto let out a loud cough. "Ahem! Sasuke Cough! Cough!" Sakura blushed bright red even though it was exactly what she had been thinking. Sasuke also turned a light shade of red and he shot Naruto a death glare. Naruto only grinned, "I suppose you two have some things to discuss." He shoved Sakura in Sasuke's direction.

Sakura just stood there awkwardly until Sasuke grabbed her arm and he strode over to a secluded area. "Ah-Sasuke!" she was pulled along and the Sasuke stopped. He turned to stare intently into her jade eyes. She tried to look away, embarrassed, but he held her gaze firmly.

"Sakura." She flinched as he said her name. The way he said it, it just rolled of his tongue. She liked it when he said her name. She felt like she belonged with him as cheesy as it sounded. She reluctantly looked up. "I'm sorry." He said simply.

She had a small smile put on her face as he uttered those two words. She knew he never apologized. It wasn't in his nature to be sorry for things that he had done. But he had apologized to her. And those two words meant more than a hundred words ever could. She threw her slender arms around his waist and inhaled his scent. It felt so good to be in his arms, and she wished that she could just forget about everything else and stay in his arms. "We're one messed up couple, aren't we?" she murmured.

He chuckled and hugged her tighter, "Yeah, we are. We make it work though." He bent down to kiss the top of her head. "Sakura—"

His words were cut off as Naruto let out a cheer, "Hurrah for the bad ass mother effing couple! They made up!" he cheered gleefully, clapping his hands together. "Hey—what happened to your shirt? Its all, is that blood?" he gasped in disbelief.

Ino's eyes grew wide, "Omo…what happened?" she shrieked as she caught sight of the crimson stain.

Sasuke immediately pulled her out of his arms to look at her shirt. He saw the blood stains and then he saw the wounds on her body. He hadn't noticed it at first; he had only cared about apologizing at first.

Sasuke could only stare at her wounds that everybody had just noticed due to their elation at her arrival. "What happened?" he asked flatly. Was that anger that she detected in his voice?

Sakura remembered, Hinata. Hinata had to be saved. She turned to Naruto, "We have to go rescue Hinata!" she called out desperately. "She's going to suffer!" her eyes went wild as she tried to get them to listen.

Naruto's eyes hardened, "What happened?" he asked sharply. "Is Hinata okay?"

"I don't know!" Sakura snapped. "That's why I have to go get her!"

Sasuke put his hands on her shoulder and he tried to soothe her, "It'll be fine. Tell us from the beginning so we can help you."

Sakura took a deep breath, "I-I after you left, I was about to leave as well. I left the car and went into an alleyway. One of Madara's men knocked me out and dragged me into the trunk of the car." Sasuke's fist clenched together. "I woke up and I saw Madara and Anko. She had thrown me away." Shikamaru snorted as he knew that would have happened. "So, I told Anko that I was a mole."

Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari all nodded together in support for their sister. "She was furious, enraged. So angry that she was blinded and I managed to trip her up. I stole her gun and I used that to fight Madara as well. Just when I was about to kill them, Hinata stopped me."

Naruto shook his head, "N-No not Hinata. She can't be with Madara!" he let out a furious growl. The others also expressed their disbelief. Hinata? The quiet, submissive girl who wouldn't hurt anything or anyone?

Sakura shook her head. "Let me continue. Madara was about to recruit Neji a few years ago. By chance, Hinata learned of this and she offered to take Neji's place. Madara agreed and she has been serving him."

Tenten's eyes grew wide, "So all this time, it was for Neji?" her voice was barely a whisper.

The rosette nodded, "After Anko and Madara left, Hinata arranged for me to fake my escape. I was to knock her out and steal the key and escape over here. She told me to worry about her later." Tears came, "I should have never left her…"

Naruto punched the wall, "Hinata…" he growled. "We have to go now!" Sakura nodded but Shikamaru stopped them.

"We can't just run in blindly! We need a strategy." He reminded them impatiently.

Naruto shook his head, "Screw the damn strategy! Hinata won't last long!" he insisted. "I'm not just going—"he was cut off by the ringing of Naruto's phone. He shot an exasperated look at the device but a chill ran down Sakura's spine.

"Naruto." Her voice came out strangled. "Can I see your phone?" Naruto frowned at her and he looked at the caller ID, he shrugged, not recognizing the number. Sakura took the phone and she looked at the caller ID and sucked in a breath, It was Anko. Sakura slid the phone open and she let out a deep breath, "Hello, Anko-sama."

"Huh. So it's you. You managed to escape, you traitor." Anko snarled at her and Sakura turned the speaker phone on.

"Ne, Anko-sama, how did you get Naruto's number?" Sakura asked numbly.

She let out a high-pitched giggle, "Oh, I had Shino do some digging for me, I was going to egg him on but I suppose you'll have to do." She replied ruefully.

"What do you want?" Sakura demanded coldly.

Anko giggled again, "I thought I'd let you hear something—she paused and then Sakura heard the sound of something cracking.

"AHHH!" A tortured scream came. Sakura's blood went cold as she recognized the voice immediately. "NNGHHH-AAHHHH! STOP IT!" Hinata begged as another cracking sound came.

Naruto was truly furious now, his blood was boiling. "You bitch!" he uttered out lowly. It was loud enough for Anko to catch.

"Ah, I'm on speaker phone? Well, let me give you another taste of what your friend Hinata is going through, A cracking sound came once more, "Please…AHHHGGHH! It hurts…" Hinata's small voice whimpered.

Sakura's heart felt like it had been pierced, this is all my fault! Her knuckles went white, "What do you want?" Sakura asked hollowly.

Anko let out an amused laugh, "That's more like it. I'm after some entertainment." Sasuke let out a hiss; Madara and Anko were working together. "You want your little girl back? Come tomorrow night to the Koizumi banquet, I'm sure that prick, Uchiha Sasuke knows what even I'm talking about. I'll be holding her in one of the rooms. Take all the time you want to look for her, if you fail to show up, Sakura-chan, by 11 PM, Hinata gets the bullet!" she uttered the last words in a sing-song voice.

"Don't disappoint me. Hope to see you there!" The phone went dead and Sakura almost slammed the phone down out of sheer frustration. There was nothing she could do until tomorrow. By then, Hinata could be suffering so much worse. She felt so helpless and vulnerable.

Naruto on the other hand was absolutely seething with rage at hearing his girlfriend's bones being cracked one by one. "We are going to kill her." He stated simply. "I want her dead." Ino tried to soothe him by murmuring some words to him but he wouldn't listen.

An eerie silence followed and Shikamaru broke it first. "We can beat her at this chess game." He had a triumphant smirk. "She wants to play, then we'll play, but we'll beat her using this." He tapped his head.

Sai tilted his head to the side, "So we'll be attending the Koizumi banquet?" he asked curiously.

Shikamaru nodded, "We'll pull out all her tricks and skills to get Hinata back and we'll lock up Madara and Anko." He smirked, "If there's one thing that I can beat her at, it's strategy. "

"Now here's how we're going to do this…"

**A/N: Hello readers :) I apologize for the wait I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope it got you excited for the last chapter and epilogue. If you would like to, leave me a review stating what you want to happen to our characters at the end. No MAJOR things but just little things that they could do after the events of the story. **

**I was thinking about a sequel but I have no story plot for that, so uh, if you want a sequel then maybe? IDK. **

**I'm worried. I hope you are not too disappointed with this chapter! Thank you ALLLLLL who took their time to review, I will be selfish again and ask you to REVIEW once moreeee :) Thank you very much! **

**SPECIAL NOTE TO zeldalove Akira-chan: heheheh I put in your OC's as promised. Don't worry, that's not all! They will also have an appearance in the next chapter :) Thank you again!**

**MUCH LOVE,**

**WRITER4EVERR**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Game Over**

"_It's the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they're gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it's my turn to leave."_

_Kurokage Headquarters_

_5:49 PM_

Tonight's events would determine the winner of a certain game called life. Anko was determined to not lose. She never lost. It wasn't in her nature to accept defeat or call it quits. She was vicious and never ran away from battles. She was not going to lose, especially not to that traitorous girl, Haruno.

Anko glared severely at all her men that stood before her. "Tonight," she began dramatically, "Our objective is to ensure that Sakura and her little posse" she spat out the word 'posse' with absolute hatred, "do not rescue Hinata Hyuuga." She pulled out her pocket knife and unsheathed it. She reached out to cut one of the men on the arm, the red blood dripped out on to the metal knife with a soft splatter.

The man did not make a sound but his unease was evident. "A-Anko-sama…" his voice faltered. He started at his wound with alarm.

She merely gave him a lazy smile, "You," she purred, "I'll put you in charge. I want you to assign people to patrol around the perimeter, around Hinata's room, everywhere and when you see Sakura Haruno or Naara I want you to call me ASAP." Her eyes glittered dangerously and she brought the blood splattered knife to her tongue. She licked it once with a satisfied smile.

The man hesitated as he spoke, "If I may continue, where will you be?" his eyes flickered nervously from side to side.

She let out a scoff, "Why, you can't expect Madara and I to be cooped up with the Hyuuga girl in that stuffy room!" She rolled her eyes, "We'll be enjoying the party of course. We want to be able to greet certain guests!" Anko flipped her purple hair carelessly.

He nodded, "Of course." He whispered. "I understand. Our firearms are ready and so are all the security formations." His voice was barely loud enough.

Anko gave him a cold look, "Good. Prepare for tonight. I don't accept failures." She hissed out.

"Now, now." Madara's voice came from the shadows. The lavender-haired woman turned to face her newfound accomplice.

"Madara." She greeted shortly. "I thought you weren't going to get involved in my preparations." She ventured cautiously.

He gave her a short nod, "I did. I just came to see how things were going. I'm merely observing." He shrugged and then turned, "Just a note of advice…" he trailed off.

Anko started at his back curiously, "What?" she demanded.

"When it comes to it, you can't hope to outsmart their conglomerate of FBI agents and police captains."

She was startled at his claim and a little unnerved, "Are you saying that I give up—"

"I'm saying that you need to play dirty. Bring out your firearms. Manipulate them. You know Sakura and Shikamaru, don't you? Use their weaknesses. Don't think that they won't have some sort of strategy up their sleeves." He replied icily.

She backed down as she understood what he implied, "I realized that already." She snapped. "I know just how good of a strategist Shikamaru is. I realize that Sakura is an elite agent. However, I know they're weaknesses and I've already taken them into considering."

She paused with a toothy grin, "Trust me, i've got this covered. They're going down." She turned to leave, her stilettos clicking against the pavement, "Now, if you excuse me, I have a disguise to get into."

Madara watched her leave and his lips curved upward. Tonight would be the turning point, he mused. Tonight, things would have to get messy if he wanted to win. However, if that was what it took, then he had no qualms about resorting to such means.

* * *

**Koizumi Banquet**

**7:39 PM**

"_So how do we go about this?" Naruto questioned curiously. He pulled a chair next to Sakura and opened his packet of pretzels. Sakura glanced at her blonde friend before pulling Sasuke's jacket closer around her shoulders. He had lent it to her, after seeing her blood-stained shirt. _

_Everybody was gathered in the largest interrogation room planning the rescue of Hinata. Tenten sat idly on one end with Ino standing behind her, fixing her bun while Temari was seated right next to Shikamaru privately conversing with him. Gaara and Kankuro were discussing what type of firearms they had access to. Sasuke thrummed on the table seated on Sakura's left and speaking occasionally. Itachi and Sayuki sat and kept to themselves, but their eyes were trained on the blueprint that Shikamaru had rolled out on the table. _

"_We start with some background information." Sai responded. "Easy as that."_

_Sakura scooted closer to the table, "Yeah, so what is this Koizumi banquet?" she asked curiously._

"_I guess I'll explain, since I've actually met them." Sasuke spoke. "They're a family run major corporation that is currently the second fastest growing business in Asia. They sell mainly manufacturing goods an all that stuff. There are four senior executives, they're all siblings."_

_Itachi pondered this for a second, "Tell me this, brother. Are they close like we are?" He asked with a cold smile. _

_Sasuke scowled at his brother, "They are close." He refused to answer if he and Itachi were close or not. After Itachi's revelation, he wasn't sure how close they were anyways. "They split responsibilities and run the company in four sectors. The eldest are twins, Akira and Aiko. Aiko, he is the more social one and runs all social relations. I've met him more than once. Akira, she likes to keep to herself and doesn't go out in public often. She runs the core operations of Koizumi Corporations. The middle child is another man called Atsuko. I haven't met him yet, but from what I hear, he gets very hotheaded sometimes. The last sibling is the youngest, Akane. She's the shrewdest and the most collected out of all the siblings despite her young age. She's partially why they're so successful, because of her negotiation prowess. Every year, they host a banquet to celebrate their company's success. They invite all their trading partners and business relations, which includes me. I received an invitation a couple of weeks back. It's a really elite event. You even have to register and get your date approved." He snorted._

_Tenten mused this for a second, "Huh. So it'll be hard to sneak somebody in if we don't have people on the inside."_

_Temari nodded, "We know. That's why we're planning to use Naruto."_

_Naruto looked up startled, "Eh? What do you mean, 'use' me?" he frowned._

_Shikamaru simply stared at Naruto for a moment before proceeding, "Good. You have a good face for this." He murmured more to himself than Naruto._

_Sayuki, who stood beside him chuckled, "Are you planning what I think you're planning?" she had a little smirk on her face._

_The pineapple haired man nodded at the lady's question. "Yes. Naruto will carry out Phase 1 of my plan." He declared._

_Naruto blanched, "Phase 1? And what do you mean I have a 'good face' for this?" He questioned anxiously as he rubbed his chin. _

_Sakura rolled her eyes, "He means you don't have a striking face." She answered for him._

_He frowned, "Is that bad?" he started to touch his face self-consciously. _

_Sayuki chuckled, "No, it just means that it's not easily recognizable." She gestured to Gaara, "People like Gaara have striking faces, you know, they have noticeable features. It makes it hard for them to go undercover. However, you, have simple features. Put on some contacts and a wig and you're easily unidentifiable." She explained._

_Shikamaru nodded, "Exactly. Phase 1 is solely dependent on your abilities."_

_Sasuke let out a groan, "Oh, God, we're screwed." Sakura elbowed him but a small smile graced her lips._

"_Hey!" Naruto protested. "I can do this." He insisted. "What's the plan?" he smacked his fist down on the table in an attempt to show authority, but it hurt more than he thought. "Shit." He muttered. Sasuke snickered at him but went silent at Naruto's glares._

"_Good." Shikamaru smiled wearily. "Glad to hear you're up to it." He looked over at Temari who was scrawling down notes on a pad of paper, "You finished, yet?"_

_She nodded and held up the pad for him to see, "Yes, all positions are written down." She grinned, "May I?"_

_He sighed, "I suppose. Here are all the positions you guys will be taking. So listen up." He ordered lazily. Everybody perked up and looked expectantly at Temari who had a devilish grin upon her face._

_She cleared her throat, "Shikamaru and I will be working from here and connecting wit you guys through ear buds. We'll help you guys out and if we see any obstacles heading your way, we'll alarm you. Now, Phase 1: Naruto will infiltrate security. You are to take out one of the entry guards on shift and take his spot. You're role is key as without you, there's no way for Sakura, Tenten, and Sai to enter. We made up aliases for you three, however, there's a pre-made entry list that only permits registered people in the banquet hall. Therefore, Naruto will be carrying a fake guest list with your aliases name on it, got it? Sasuke will also be entering, but seeing as the Koizumi's actually invited him we didn't need to invent an alias for him." Temari glanced at Naruto, "Think you can pull this off?"_

_The blonde grinned, "I know I can." He answered confidently._Naruto's muscles bunched up as he watched two guards walking around the entrance that was roped off with a velvet rope. One guard was scrawnier than the other and more meek looking, that was the one that he was going to take out, he decided. In his hand he held a gray duffel bag that contained the uniform and disguise that he needed, everything was set.

He jogged up to the guards with a cheery smile, "Hey there!"

The two guards looked up warily, "Hey, need something?" The more muscular one asked gruffly.

Naruto put on a sheepish smile, "Yeaah, here's the thing. I work with the decorating crew that Koizumi-san hired. We need one more person to do some heavy-lifting, think one of you could do it?"

The two men hesitated, not really wanting to and Naruto saw this. He plastered a sneer upon his face, "Well, I see. There's stronger guys, down the next door, I'll go ask-"

They took the bait. "Hey, wait! Tokki, go with him." The muscular man commanded the other scrawny guy. Naruto grinned triumphantly, _perfect._Tokki's face wrinkled up in displeasure but he followed as Naruto went down the stony stairs, out of the other security guard's sight.

Shikamaru's voice crackled into Naruto's ear, "Walk for a distance before knocking him out."

"Got it." He murmurred softly. Naruto gestured to Tokki, "It's just right over there." They walked for a little bit before they turned a corner into a secluded narrow path where bushes grew thick on the side of the pavement.

Naruto let out a little gasp, "Oh my, is that a sea gull?" he asked in exaggerated excitement.

Tokki squinted off into the distance, "Wha-THUNK!" His words were caught off as Naruto hit the back of his head. Just enough to knock him out but not hard enough to cause any brain damamge. Naruto caught Tokki's body as it slumped down. He dragged the (thankfully) skinny man and laid him down beneath the thick bushes. The leaves concelaed the body and it was nearly impossible to discern. He unzipped his duffel bag and pulled out a syringe full of a toxin that put its victim to sleep for 6 hours. Plenty of time for a short nap. Naruto took Tokki's arm and slid in the needle painlessly. He withdrew it and then discarded of it.

He rummaged around some more in his duffel bag until he found the bright blue security uniform that was identical to Tokki's. He also pulled out a brown wig and a moustache that he personally thought would make him look more of a pedophile than a security officer. He shrugged, it was time to get to work.

After he had disguised, he headed back to the entry where the muscular man stood there, he adjusted his moustache for the gazillionth time and he approached, "Hey!" he called out in a low voice.

The man turned, "Hey. Me and Tokki got this covered, where are you supposed to be?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

Naruto shook his head with a regretful sigh, "You see, Tokki got hurt helping the decorating crew. Koizumi-san asked me to step in."

"Which Koizumi sibling?" he asked suspiciously.

"Who else? Akane did." Naruto answered, proud that he had remembered the girl's name.

"Oh." The man replied. "Well, nice to meet ya. Name is Shigeru." He extended a hand, and Naruto took it firmly.

"Shigeru, huh? My name is…" and in that moment Naruto blanked out. He couldn't remember his alias! He began to panic, "My name is O-Oturan." He replied weakly.

Shikamaru facepalmed as he heard Naruto's reply over the mic. Oturan? Oturan?

Temari hit herself on the forehead, "Oh god. That's the best he could think of? That's his own name backwards!" she hissed out. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his idioticness.

Shigeru raised his eyebrow, "That's quite a name. Anyways, do you have your guest list?"

Naruto nodded and pulled out the fake guest list he had gotten from Shikamaru, "Right here!" Shigerun nodded satisfactorily and then became silent. An awkward silence settled between the two, "Sooo…" Naruto began.

Shikamaru's voice crackled in his ear once more, "Just shut it. We can't have you slipping up. Oturan, really?" he asked dryly.

Naruto protested, "Hey!" but then remebered that he was wearing an earbud. Shigeru shot him a strange look. "H-Hey! I meant, it's gonna be a heck of a party, right?" he added hastily.

Shigeru shrugged, "Dunno. I can't wait for my shift to be over." He drawled out. "It hasn't even started. Just a few more minutes." He muttered.

Naruto nodded and soon guests began arriving. He played his role of the obedient entry guard perfectly. It wasn't that hard to do after all, it was check the ID, check off the name, check the ID check off the name. A most tedious task that left Naruto wondering where the hell Sasuke and Sakura were so that they could move on to Phase 2.

And then he spotted Sasuke pulling up in his own limo. He stayed near his car however, waiting for Sakura to arrive in her own limo.

Sasuke thrummed his fingers against the shiny doors of his car. Adrenaline pumped through his veins getting him ready for what was coming. He was about to see Madara fall and he was going to relish every second of it. He smirked, if they succedded in this, then hopefully everything was going to return to normal. Or what was normal for him at least. He looked around for a bit and then he spotted Sakura's designated limo. It pulled up in the space next to his own limo and the door slowly opened.

Sasuke's jaw pratically fell on the floor as he saw Sakura step out of the limo in her disguise. The green-eyed rosette was replaced by a tall, toned french woman with platinum blonde hair and wide hazel eyes. She wore a sequined mini dress and rose colored stilettos. Sasuke was amazed by Sakura's attention to detail. She had slightly thickened her eyebrows and exaggerated the arch and had even put in circle contact lenses so that her eyes appeared bigger than ususal.

She smirked as she saw his expression, "I take it that I look alright?" she asked teasingly. She linked a slender arm around his and pulled him along, "Let's kick some ass, ne?" He nodded with a confident half smile as they approached the entrance.

Naruto stood there looking uncomfortable in the bright blue security uniform as toyed with his fake moustache. His bright blonde hair had been replaced by a floppy brown haired wig. He stood next to a real security officer who had on a bored expression. He perked up immediately when he saw Sakura coming his way. He coughed politely, "Ahem, ma'am! Your name?"

Sakura threw a coy smile in his direction, "Charlotte Roux, I come from France all the way to be his date." She gestured to Sasuke as she spoke in a perfect French accent. "He drags me from my show to be with him tonight." She winked at the officer.

He stuttered, "Ah- you're a performer?" he asked.

She shook her head, her blonde hair swishing to and fro. "Non, I model for Christian Lacroix! C'est une honte de le rater, non?" she held out her hand for him to kiss.

The security guard had no idea what she stated but knew it was a question. "Oui, oui!" he grinned and grabbed her hand eagerly. Sasuke glared at the man and pulled Sakura's hand back. "Can we get in already?" he asked irritably.

Flustered, the guard grabbed the clipboard, "Ah, yes! You name, mister?"

Sasuke crossed his arms and motioned for Naruto to get ready, "Sasuke Uchiha."

"And Charlotte Roux!" Sakura chimed in once more, her full red lips pouted.

The guard skimmed through the list and he looked up apollogetically, "There's only Sasuke Uchiha, there's no Charlotte Roux. I'm afraid, guests had to be registered beforehand with the Koizumi family."

Naruto cleared his throat, "There must be a misprint on your list. She's on my list." He made a dramatic showing of the list, "Right there. Charlotte Roux." He shot a wink at Sasuke.

The guard frowned as he looked over on Naruto's list, "Hn. Must be a misprint on my list. That's strange." He mused.

Sakura batted her eyelashes, "A misprint? Well, I'm still able to get in right?" she asked with a worried look on her porcleain face.

The guard cleared his throat, "Of course! Here you are…" he unhooked the velvet rope and bowed a little too deeply, "After you!"

Sasuke shot him one final glare while Sakura batted her eyelashes again and gave him a sultry smile. "Thank you soo much!" she gushed and then walked through confidently. She murmurred over her mic, "We're in, Shikamaru."

"Excellent. Procced as we have planned, Tenten and Sai are still preparing. They'll be in in about fifteen minutes." He responded.

She nodded and pulled Sasuke closer to her, "So where exactly are these Koizumi siblings?" She asked with mild interest.

Sasuke scanned the crowd of society's elite and spotted the four almost immediately. He nudged Sakura and pointed subtly over to the four siblings. She nodded and pulled him forward, in the direction of the siblings. Their job was to chat up the siblings before Tenten and Sai went into action.

As the neared the family, the smallest of them, a girl with black hair tinged with blue noticed them first. She peered at them with curious green-grey eyes. It was obvious that she recognized Sasuke and she whispered to her siblings, making them aware of Sasuke's arrival as well.

The sibling, a man with spiky black hair with faint pink streaks stepped forward and smiled charismatically, "Pleasure seeing you again Uchiha." He extended his hand forward and Sauke shook it warmly.

"Likewise, Aiko. How has your family been?" Sasuke enquired politely. Sakura made a mental note. The tallest sibling was Aiko. And if she was correct, he was also one of the set ot twins.

"We've been fine." A smooth voice replied. The voice belonged to the other female who Sakura deduced was Aiko's twin, Akira. She had dark pink hair and observant green eyes. Her eyes flickered over to Sakura, "I don't think we've met your guest before."

Sakura took this as a cue to introduce herself, "My name is Charlotte Roux, I met Sasuke in Paris." She stated in a thick french accent. "It is a pleasure to be here." She smiled charmingly.

The remaining brother, Atsuko grinned and acknowledged Sakura with a friendly nod of the head. "Please enjoy your time here then, Miss Roux." He had pitch black hair and a stunning pair of emerald eyes that looked at Sakura keenly.

Akane spoke up finally, "How long are you planning to stay in Japan, Miss Roux?" the youngest enquired.

Sakura pretended to play with strande of blonde hair, "For just a couple days, I have to be back in time for Fashion Week. I am a model, you see. I've had the opportunity of coming over to Japan for just a couple of times, I hope to visit more often." She tried to babble on.

An awkward silence settle over the group of six and Aiko cleared his throat, "Well, if you excuse us, we have to make preparations for our opening speech and commencement ceremony. It was a pleaure meeting you, Miss Roux." He flashed a brilliant smile at Sakura to which Sasuke responded with a little hiss.

Sakura nodded, "It was a pleaure as well." The four siblings walked away and Akane gave one last, curious, backward glance at Sakura.

Sasuke blinked, "Well, that was awkard." He surmised.

She snorted, "Of course it was. I'm supposed to be a ditzy model and they're hard-working business moguls. You weren't thinking that we were going to chat about girl things were you?" She asked in amusement.

"Not really." He admitted and he leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. She giggled against his touch and kissed him back playfully.

"Are you sure now's a good time?" she teased him.

"I always have good timing." He replied with a smug smirk. He leaned in for another kiss but his earpiece crackled.

"Tenten and Sai are moving in, time for Phase 3!" Temari chimed in his ear. "Sure you can pull this off Uchiha?" she taunted.

Sasuke growled, "Don't push it, Sabaku." He motioned to Sakura, "Just remember to keep an eye out for Gaara."

Sakura nodded and she looked over at the bar, Gaara was tending to a customer and he wore a sharp waiter outfit. He looked highly uncomfortable but didn't stand out in the crowd. Good, everything was in place, it was time for things to start going.

"_No, no way." Sakura shook her head as she heard what Temari and Shikamaru had planned for her. _

_Temari gave her a scathing look, "This is for Hinata." She reminded._

"_I know, but, I mean, come on, a French supermodel?" Sakura demanded. They couldn't be serious. They were asking her to disguise as a model in order to be Sasuke's date?_

"_Why not?" Sasuke grinned trying to conjure up a mental image of Sakura in guise as a French model. She whacked him on the shoulder and crossed her arms._

_Temari shrugged. "Our plans, our way. Besides, Sasuke has been known to be a sucker for models. Just go with the story."_

_Sasuke shot Temari a glare and Sakura leaned back. "Fine." She huffed. "I suppose, I need to brush up on my French anyways." She glared at her FBI sister, "You're so lucky that this is for Hinata and not for some stupid mission."_

_Temari chuckled, "I know. Phase 2: Sasuke and Sakura infiltrate the banquet. Naruto will allow you in and you'll mingle with guests. Be sure to keep an eye out for Anko or one of her aliases. Gaara will be inside as well, in the guise of a bartender. He'll be on the lookout as well. Then this is where Tenten and Sai come in…this is Phase 3."_

Tenten checked her reflection in her compact mirror one last time and she shuddered with some degree of revulsion. She looked so _old_. Sayuki had done Tenten's makeup to make her look like a 50-something year old Chinese woman and it looked so real that Tenten constantly had to keep touching her wrinkled face. The changes done to her face were drastic. She now had bags under her eyes, wrinkles on her forehead, sunspots everywhere. She donned a cropped black wig and a blue one-piece business suit that completed her look. She was posing as Chinese business mogul Lei Fang with her translator and attendant Sheng.

She glanced over at Sai who was now putting final touches on his 'Sheng' disguise. He straightened out his bow tie and his bowl cut wig. "How do I look?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

"Better than me." She grumbled.

He nodded, "You look like my grandma." He commented breezily. She frowned at this but shrugged it off, after all, that was the point, to look old. "Let's review the steps." He suggested.

She nodded, "Okay. Step 1, get in. Step 2, cause a scene. Step 3, Swipe security badge. Step 4, hand badge to Sasuke. Step 5, sit back and relax." She finished with a smug smile. "Easy enough."

He shrugged, "It should be. Remember though, you can't speak Japanese, only Chinese." He reminded.

She shrugged, "I got it, I got it. Let's go in already." She urged on impatiently.

He nodded in agreement. They left the car and immediately, Tenten hunched over and Sai took her arm, as if aiding the old woman. He approached the entry and saw Naruto in a uniform with another security guard.

Naruto recognized the two and gave them a wink. He turned to the other security guard; "I can check these two in." he called. "Names?" he asked with a smirk.

"Lei Fang and Sheng, we are business representatives from China." Sai politely explained.

Naruto nodded, "I see. Your names are right here." He crossed out the names and unhooked the velvet rope. "Enjoy the night." He called with a knowing look.

They stepped in and Tenten sucked in a breath, she could do this.

Shikamaru's voice came over Tenten's earpiece. "Good, you're in. I'll tell Gaara to move in now." He replied.

Tenten nodded and she saw Gaara making her way over. Hurriedly she pretended to be engaged in a conversation with Sai as people started to notice her arrival.

Gaara approached the two with a tray holding glasses of wine. "Evening." He greeted smoothly, "Can I interest you in a drink?"

Sai nodded, "One drink for my boss, here." Gaara nodded and lifted the glass to give it to Tenten but 'accidentally' spilt it on the front of Tenten's dress.

Gaara let out a little gasp and exclaimed loudly, "Oh my God! I'm sooo sorry!" He put a little effeminate touch to his voice. "Oh God that was stupid of me!"

Tenten looked down at her dress in horror and she made her face turn red, "Shàngdì!" She spluttered. "Nǐ zěnme gǎn! Nǐ zhī bù zhīdào zhège fèiyòng duōshǎo!" She demanded Gaara. _God! How dare you? Do you know how much this cost?_

Gaara who acted utterly confused turn to Sheng, "What is she saying? Does she not understand Japanese? Can you tell her I apologize?" he asked frantically.

Sai turned to Tenten, "Lei Fang! Qǐng bǎochí ānjìng! Gāi míng nánzǐ shuō, tā shì hěn bàoqiàn!" he tried to quiet her but to no avail. _Please keep quiet! The man says that he is sorry!_

Tenten shrieked on as she saw the damage done to her expensive dress. "Tā dehuà yìwèizhe shénme! Xiàng tā zhèyàng de nóngmín yīnggāi zhīdào zìjǐ de wèizhì!" _His words mean nothing! A peasant like him ought to know his place!_

People were now starting to gather and they murmured as they saw Tenten yell out Chinese. Tenten decided to take things up a notch while people were watching. She glared at Gaara and shoved him down to the floor. "Wèi nín fúwù de quánlì!" she roared.

Gasps were audible as Gaara crashed to the floor. Immediately she felt hands on her shoulder trying to restrain her. She turned to see security guards standing behind her with gruff expressions. She took one by the shirt and screamed at him in Chinese to distract him from her other hand reaching down to his pants where his ID was clipped on. She continued to yell at him while she slowly unclipped the metal card and slipped it inside her sleeve.

Just as she had finished this she felt a tap at her shoulder and she whirled around to face the hostess of the banquet, Akira who stood with a disapproving look upon her face. "Miss, Lei Fang, please refrain from harassing her employees. We sincerely apologize and promise to pay for the damages. However, we cannot tolerate your violence." She spoke coldly.

Sai, next to her, pretended to translate for her in hushed whispers. Tenten nodded at Akira's words and she turned around haughtily, smiling at her accomplishment. She had actually managed to pull it off! She had gotten the ID card for Sasuke…a complete success. Sai murmured, "Step 4."

She nodded and proceeded in the crowd of people before spotting Sasuke next to Charlotte Roux a.k.a. Sakura. She knew that Shikamaru had told him that Tenten was coming so she wasted no time in walking smoothly over. She brushed against his back and she handed the card to him discreetly while passing by. Step 4 completed.

Sasuke felt a faint grin come to his lips as he felt the metal card being placed in his hands. He knew Tenten would be able to do it. He turned back to Sakura and slipped her the ID card. "Good luck." He murmured and enveloped her in a hug. "Don't die on me." He ordered sternly.

She laughed, "I'll try not to." She tried to make her voice sound light-hearted but she couldn't keep the anxious tone out of it. She slipped away from the crowd and left to go up the stairs to find her friend.

Naruto go the command from Temari that Tenten was successful. It was his turn now to act. He turned to Shigeru, "Damn I got to piss." He groaned. "Mind if I took a quick break?" he pleaded.

Shigeru rolled his eyes but nodded. "Hurry up." He complained.

Naruto nodded and then pretended to reach for his ID badge. "Aww. Man. Damnit all. I forgot my badge. Mind if I borrow yours?" he begged.

Shigeru eyed him suspiciously, "Are you serious?" he demanded. He unclipped his badge, "Sheesh, seriously." He muttered.

Naruto shot him a bright smile, "Thanks, man. I'll be back in not time!" he jogged off with the badge and entered the building through the back door. He slipped the card through the swipe and the door swung open. He was immediately greeted by a set of stairs that led to the rooftop. He hurriedly ran up the flight of stairs and reached the top of the stairs and heaved the door open.

"You're late." An icy tone informed Naruto.

Naruto winced as he viewed the older Uchiha. "Sorry about that. It wasn't my fault." He saw Itachi dressed in all black carrying a duffel bag. Sayuki and Ino were also there, similarly dressed. They greeted Naruto as well.

Ino looked at him, "It's a good thing you're here now. We can get in with the ID card then." She stated obviously.

Naruto nodded, "First of all, we need to get rid of the guards, which is why I brought this." He held up a walkie-talkie. He handed it to Sayuki. "You can imitate Anko's voice can't you?"

Sayuki grinned, "Of course I can. Is Kankuro ready?" Kankuro was to play a fake intruder in order to divert the guard's attention and get them to leave the area while they searched for Hinata.

He nodded. "Shikamaru says to proceed now." He relayed back.

Sayuki turned on the device and spoke into it, "All stations, I need immediate response!" she snapped into the walkie-talkie. Her voice sent chills down Naruto's spine.

A shaky voice answered, "Yes, Anko-sama?"

"I've spotted an intruder on the west side of the building near the woods. The intruder has brown hair and purple pain markings on both cheeks. I need all stations down there pronto! Make sure you take the back to ensure that none of the partygoers know your presence."

"A-All stations?" the man asked in disbelief.

"ALL. Did I stutter?" Sayuki snarled in Anko's voice.

"N-no, right away Anko-sama." He murmured obediently.

Itachi let out a low chuckle, "Brilliant as always." He complimented.

She smiled, "Of course. Let's go shall we?"

_Meanwhile with Sakura…_

Sakura continued down the flight of stairs until she reached a hallway that was ornately decorated and had multiple doors on each wall. She didn't know where to start; all she knew was that she was glad that Kankuro had diverted the guards so she had time to search. She moved cautiously knowing that there was the chance that guards still remained and she withdrew her gun.

Taking the badge she opened the first door and opened it carefully, only to see it empty. She didn't dare venture further as she knew there would be some kind of booby trap set up.

She let out a little frustrated noise and moved silently through the hall. She chose another door and was about to swipe the key card when she heard a scratching noise. She froze for a second and listened intently. Yes, she heard it clearer. A distinct scratching noise that was coming from one of the rooms next to her.

Her hear lurched forward in excitement as she realized that it had to be Hinata! She moved to swipe the door and the door unlocked. Just as she placed a hand on the doorknob a cold hand grasped her shoulder.

"So you managed to find her? That was pure luck." A cold voice stated in amusement.

* * *

_Back in the Banquet Hall…_

Sasuke waited anxiously for an update on what was going on. He was a little frustrated that he was left to wait for everybody else. Behind him, a group of girls swooned and tried to catch his attention but he brushed them off coldly. He didn't have time to mess around. He ground his teeth together, if he didn't hear anything within in the next minutes he was going to go in as well.

"Sasuke-kun! I didn't think you would attend to do recent events!" a man crowed behind him.

Sasuke knew that voice immediately. Madara Uchiha. He turned around to face his ex-mentor with a snarl and then stopped. A lithe red-haired woman with piercing golden eyes accompanied the man. It was not somebody that Sasuke knew at first glance but he quickly came to the realization that it was Anko disguised as her alias.

"Madara." He greeted with a short nod. "Have you come to wreak havoc on my life again?" he asked testily.

Anko stared at him with her gold eyes. "Hmph. This does not concern you little boy. It has to do with my agent who has betrayed you. I would think that you would be happy." Her lips curled downwards in a sneer.

He growled back, "I'm not. I'm sick of Kurokage and Akatsuki's meddling!" he spat out.

Madara let out an amused laugh, "So your allegiance no longer rests with me?" he questioned.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "It never did." He uttered out. His eyes flashed angrily and he could barely restrain himself from throttling Madara on the spot.

Anko giggled in the midst of silence, "You've got guts boy, I can see that." She took a sip of her Bloody Mary, "That's going to get you killed someday." She sneered.

Sasuke could only clench his jaw and remain silent. A beeping sound emitted from the inside of Anko's jacket and her mouth quirked upwards into a smirk. She withdrew her phone and opened it. "What is it?" she demanded.

Sasuke's ears pricked up and he listened in.

"You do?" she sounded exhilarated. "Excellent. Tell the others to confine her in the same room as well." Sasuke froze at these words. Was it Sakura that she was talking about?

There was a pause and then her tone darkened, "What do you mean it's only you?" she demanded. "Where are the other guards?"

She listened and then there was another deathly silence. "I didn't call a damn attack on some intruder! What intruder?" She inhaled sharply, "Do you mean to say that none of my guards are up there and they're in some godforsaken forest?" she growled.

"Shut up! I'll be there soon! I need you to restrain her to the best of your ability. She's a sneaky one." She slammed the phone close and turned to Madara, "It's time." She nodded.

Madara smiled wickedly and turned to leave. Anko turned to follow him but she glanced over her shoulder at Sasuke.

"Don't worry. I'll tell your girlfriend you said 'Hi'. I'm sure she'd like to hear it in her final moments." She winked and with a little smirk she left him alone.

And all Sasuke could do was stand there, frozen.

Anko moved down through the hallway with a silly, triumphant smile upon her face. She knew that she would win and Sakura would lose. It happened. Her guard had captured Sakura and she was about to get killed. Things couldn't be more perfect. She pulled out her gun and wrapped her long, slender fingers around it. Bloodlust raged through her system.

Madara, beside her, eyed her with a cautious eye. He seemed more at ease and less surprised at Sakura's capture but it didn't but Anko. Sakura was her's to kill.

Her heels clipped down the hallway and she turned down the corner to see a tall guard, with his face obscured by the visor helmet that came with the uniform. Sakura was in arms, struggling and trying to claw her way out of his grasp but to no avail. Sakura's face visibly paled as Anko came into view which sent delightful shivers down her spine. She nodded once in acknowledgement to the guard.

"As promised, Sakura Haruno." The guard shoved Sakura over to Anko's direction. Anko gripped Sakura by the shoulders with a toothy smile.

"Sakura, dear." She purred. "So noble of you to save Hinata, too bad your life is forfeit now." She turned to the guard. "Unlock it." She ordered.

The guard nodded once and pulled out his key card and swiped the door easily. He opened it easily. Anko pushed Sakura inside the room with a delighted giggle as she saw Hinata, still tied in her chair knocked out from the drugs she had been given earlier.

"There's your little friend you wanted to rescue!" she cooed. "Too bad you both have to die."

Madara motioned at the guard, "Tie Haruno up." He ordered, handing him a bundle of rope. The guard obliged and grabbed Sakura roughly. She tried to protest but he immediately gagged her. The only thing that Sakura could do was wriggle around like a little bug that Anko could easily squish. Sakura looked around wildly trying to find a possible escape route when the time came. _Shit, this was even riskier than they had thought._

Anko walked around serenely and ordered the guard once more, "Walk up the girl." She demanded. The guard nodded and walked over to Hinata's slumped body on the chair. He picked up a bucket of cold water and poured it over her head.

Hinata gained consciousness with a start, she spluttered as water filled her mouth and nostrils. She let out an audible gasp as she saw Sakura gagged in a similar fashion. "Sakura!" she cried out. "Anko, please! Just let her go! I'll do anything!" she begged desperately.

Anko smirked, "Too late. Besides, I have things to sort out with Sakura as well." She turned to her ex-protégé. "Sakura, do you see how futile your revenge was now?"

Sakura could only snarl and glare at Anko. Her speech was only a garble of gibberish. The rage in Sakura's body was overwhelming. She wanted Anko caught, thrown in a cold cell for the rest of her life.

Madara smiled, "Let's stop playing with our food. I want to see some real action." He suggested while drawing out his own gun.

Anko grinned and cocked her gun as well. "Let's see…shall we start with the Hyuuga. I would love to see Sakura's reaction." Sakura's shrieks grew louder even despite the gag.

Hinata paled and she closed her eyes, tears running silently down her cheeks and she moved her mouth in little whispers. "Please…" she begged.

Anko ignored her and continued on. She held the gun up to shoot the Hyuuga straight through the head. She aimed and then-BANG! Anko let out a shriek of pain as a bullet lodged into her shoulder, blood went spurting everywhere, coating her cheeks.

Madara turned to Sakura to see how on earth she had slipped a gun and shot Anko but saw that she held no gun; only a smile graced her lips.

"You're getting sloppy, Madara." A low voice intoned from behind him. Madara turned slowly as he recognized the voice. He turned to face the guard who now removed his helmet to reveal Itachi. "Itachi." He stated, stunned.

Anko let out a hiss, "You! Shoot him Madara!" she screamed out. She in turn scrambled for her own gun and scurried over to Hinata. She pointed her gun at her head, "Shoot Itachi!"

Hinata lept up and knocked out the gun of Anko's hand and punched Anko to the floor, the ropes that once tied her hands, now falling to the floor. Madara turned to shoot at Hinata completely leaving his back exposed and Itachi took the opportunity and shot his shoulder as well.

Madara let out a little sound of shock and anger before falling to the floor as well in a heap. "H-How?" he gasped out. Anko's eyes conveyed the same amount of confusion and Sakura saw it and smiled in satisfaction. Itachi pulled the ropes off her hands and Sakura stood up, stretching out her arms she came to stand over Anko's limp body.

"You let your pride get in the way." She whispered out, "Isn't that right, Sayuki?"

Hinata smirked and she grasped the skin of her neck to pull away at her prosthetic mask. She lifted it up and revealed her true identity. It was Sayuki with her cold golden eyes. She flipped out her blue-white hair, "Damn. That went better than expected." She let out a breath of relief."

Anko struggled to sit up, "Damn it. You used a decoy on me!" she snarled.

Sakura smiled confidently, "Thanks to Shikamaru's strategy and his knowledge of your predictable behavior, it was easy."

"_So you managed to find her? That was pure luck." A cold voice stated in amusement._

_Sakura turned around to see Itachi, Sayuki, Ino, and Naruto behind her, all dressed in black. She let out a sigh of relief and pulled off her blonde wig, "Yeah. I heard some noises and I followed it. It's like a scratching noise."_

_Naruto nodded and he swiped the card and entered in to see Hinata out cold and tied to a chair, she had wounds all over her body and cuts covered her arms. Naruto's face contorted into a furious expression and he raced over to cut the ropes free from her body. "Hinata!" he shook her body gently trying to awake her._

_Ino cut in, "Just leave her. We can attend to her later when we smuggle her body out of here."_

_Sakura nodded in agreement, "Are you ready Sayuki?" She asked anxiously._

_The older woman smiled, "Of course. My wounds are all painted on." She indicated to the bruises and cuts on her body that looked extremely realistic due to the professional make-up she had used. Sayuki pulled out a prosthetic mask and matching clothes that looked dirtied. She pulled on the prosthetic mask and wig expertly and touched it up in the hotel mirror. She then proceeded to undress and pull on the dirty clothes and in no time was finished. She looked exactly like Hinata and confidence surged through Sakura as she saw their plan coming together. _

_Itachi urged them to hurry, "Good. Sayuki get in the chair and I'll tie you up. Remember, you're out cold so act like it. Ino, Naruto, get Hinata out of here. I'll change into the guard uniform so then we can proceed."_

_Sakura nodded. They would make it seem like they had never been in this room and Sakura had been caught trying to rescue Hinata. It was a perfect plan and Shikamaru had known that once Anko thought she had Sakura, her guard would drop._

_Itachi pulled out his walkie-talkie and proceeded to contact Anko. "Anko-sama, I have Sakura Haruno, I caught her trying to sneak into the hostage's room. How shall I proceed?"_

_Sakura grinned; it was time for the real show to begin._

"It's over." Sakura repeated softly. "You've lost this time, Anko and Madara. There's a squad of FBI and Tokyo Police Department forces outside. There's proof and witnesses that are going to put you where you belong."

Anko breathed heavily, NO. It was not going to end this way. She couldn't lose like this! She never lost! Sakura was not going to have it her way. She moved it lightning speed and she clutched the gun to her chest. She saw Sakura's face move into an expression of horror and saw that Itachi and Sayuki couldn't react fast enough; her bullet was going to kill Sakura.

She pulled the trigger and at the same time felt it being tossed out of her hand. She was being tackled down by a heavy body. The gun fell to the floor once more; the bullet went astray, lodging elsewhere. She heard Sakura let out a gasp of surprise as she saw who had save her from death.

Sasuke panted heavily as he held down the struggling woman. "Anko…" he growled. "Persistent aren't you?" he snarled out. He turned to see Sakura almost faint with relief and Sayuki handcuffing Madara. Itachi came forward with a little smile on his lips.

"Not too bad, little brother." He stated dryly.

"Is that the closest I'm going to get to a compliment?" Sasuke asked wryly. He took the handcuffs that his brother offered to him and he handcuffed Anko who was still trying to squirm free from his grasp. Sasuke stepped off of Anko's body and then felt himself being almost tackled to the floor by Sakura's embrace.

"You're a reckless idiot." She whispered against his shoulder. She hugged him tighter to her body with relief flowing through her mind. She had won. She had defeated her greatest enemy and came out semi-unscathed. Never had she felt so exhilarated and happy.

Sasuke smiled tiredly, "We did it, didn't we?" he replied softly. "We're free now to live a normal life. It can just be me and you." A genuine smile tugged at his lips and he let go of her to stare at her emerald eyes.

She smiled in return, "Yeah, we could live a normal life." She admitted. "But how much fun would that be?" she grinned teasingly and pulled on his tie to meet his lips. She practically melted at his touch and she wanted to stay like this forever…and…

"AHEM." Itachi cleared his throat. "Would the two lovebirds please find another time to make-out instead of doing it now when there are two world class criminals that need to be thrown in prison? Yeah? Thanks."

Sasuke reluctantly let go of Sakura and glared at his brother. "Sheesh…" he muttered under his breath.

Sakura let out a melodic laugh and pulled Sasuke by the hand, "Come on…let's go enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts." She suggested with a knowing smile.

And Sasuke knew it too. With Sakura being an FBI agent, she was a magnet for action and trouble. There was going to be a hell lot of more coming their way but right now, he wanted to remember this moment of victory with the two of them together, nothing in their way now.

And that was cause enough to celebrate.

_END_


	22. Epilogue

Epilogue: Letters to You

"_If you want a happy ending that depends, of course, on where you stop your story."_

Dear Sasuke,

CALM DOWN. I am perfectly fine and you don't need to jet over here. Yes, I know I haven't written to you in a very long time but it's for a good reason, honest! While, you have left me to go to the US to complete your FBI training, your very pregnant wife has been dealing with your best friend's wedding and outrageous cravings that come with pregnancy. I'm serious, you need to hurry up and finish your training because this baby might pop out anytime soon. Tell Shikamaru and Temari I said congrats for finally going out! Shikamaru finally grew a pair and got over his fear of Gaara. Tell Gaara and Kankuro that I miss them as well.

A lot of things have happened that you've missed, namely, the preparations for Naruto and Hinata's wedding. Ino's been going berserk over here as wedding planner and trying to have everything perfect, well, you know how she is. AND, she also chose SAI to be her date to the wedding. SAI. She says that they're just going as colleagues, but we all know the truth. You have to make fun of her for that when you come back, kay?

Itachi and Sayuki have taken over Uchiha Corporations in your absence and it's prospering really well. Mainly because Sayuki and Itachi threaten all their clients, but it works out…I guess. Let's just say, a lot of your employees miss you and wish you would be coming back sooner.

Neji and Tenten are doing really well as always. Ever since Hinata told Neji the truth it's been a lot more relaxed. They made it official today and now Hinata and Neji are the Co-CEO's of Hyuuga Incorporated! She's gotten really confident lately and managed to 'politely' cuss out one of these idiot business moguls that were getting on all of our nerves. I'm sure you would have loved to see that, knowing your weird sense of humor.

Naruto was recently promoted to Tsunade's position after she retired and married this weird naturalist named Jiraiya. He was really excited about it and he told me to tell you to hurry up and return so he can rub it in your face. Don't kill him though, he means well! Naruto says that there's a special flavored ramen that only sells in the US and he says to buy a package for him by the way...

I miss you A LOT and I'm just so nervous for this baby…I know that we can be really good parents for it. I've been to the doctor a lot recently and been looking at the ultrasounds. It's really healthy and everything is going smoothly which is good. I swear to GOD though, if it inherits your chicken ass hair or my ridiculous hair color…it doesn't matter though! It'll be a beautiful baby, I know it, we have good genes :) I love you and don't forget to write back soon or I'll go positively sick with worrying.

Sincerely Yours,

Sakura

* * *

**A/N: *sob* it's finally over! I feel like it's been a long time and it probably has! Thank you SO SO SO SO SO very much too all the people that have stuck with this story and not abandoned me. You don't know how much it means to me to read each and every one of your reviews and to see how much you guys enjoy my writing. **

**I hope you guys enjoyed the ending chapters and were satisfied that they go their happily ever after. This tale of Sakura and Sasuke is over and I'm going to be writing a new story which has the concept of Bride of the Water God. It's a manwha that I strongly recommend that you check out! It'll be SASUSAKU of course so please look forward to it! **

**Please REVIEW this one final time. I promise to PM all reviewers and thank you because you guys are truly the best for being there and reading my chapters! MUCH LOVE XOXO**

**UNTIL THE NEXT, **

**WRITER4EVERR**


End file.
